#OccupyCentral thread: Give me Liberty or Give me Death!

[Ridgewalkers]

Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos


LIVE: 'Ball is in government's court' - student leader Alex Chow Yong-kang remains uncompromising

PUBLISHED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 7:12am
UPDATED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 4:48pm

Staff reporters

Students enjoy a fast food lunch sitting on the ground outside the Hong Kong government headquarters in Admiralty on Monday. Photo: David Wong

After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites are quiet on Monday as some demonstrators leave for work, others remain and authorities keep their distance.

Occupy supporters and the government are currently in a deadlock over negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow with both sides disagreeing on the guidelines behind the meetings.

4.40pm: Latest crowd estimates:

There are still about 300 protesters remaining in Mong Kok, but there appear to be more onlookers and journalists. Officers from the Police Tactical Unit are patrolling around the protest zone.

In Causeway Bay, some secondary school students join the few dozen protesters after school, bringing their numbers up to about 50.

4.30pm: Meanwhile, in mainland China, strict censorship on Occupy Central-related information on social media have again inspired a wave of political jokes and satire in support of the protests in Hong Kong.

4pm: One Causeway Bay business that is not complaining: a shopkeeper at a drug store on Yee Wo street says their business is not affected by the protest in the busy shopping district so far. “We were the only shop open during the first days of Occupy Central, so our business is better than usual,” says the shopkeeper who refuses to be named and filmed. “Selling water alone is enough to pay the rent.”

Photo by Raquel Carvalho.

3.30pm: About a dozen protesters remain at the Chief Executive's Office, while about 30 policemen, some of them sitting in a blue tent, watch attentively behind metal barriers. The traffic on Lung Wo Road is flowing normally without incidents so far.

2.30pm: Zhao, a 33-year-old engineer from Shandong Province who is in Hong Kong on a tourist visa, says she spent her "Golden Week" holiday protesting in Hong Kong.

"The direction of the students is right - they acted with class and integrity - contrary to the government," says Zhao, who declines to give her full name for fear of retribution, at Tim Wa Avenue, outside the chief executive's office.

Calling it a case of "good guys against bad guys", Zhao also says that today the ruling communist party have the bad guys in power.

"About democracy in Hong Kong - the mainland government I think can soften up. What they are afraid of is the repercussions it could bring to the mainland," she said.

Zhao says the movement is already a success, being forcing the government into talks.

2.20pm: A civil servant surnamed Leung sports a yellow ribbon on his shirt when he goes back to work at the government headquarters in Admiralty after lunch break.

Leung, who declines to give his full name or his title, says he wants to show his support for the Occupy movement and is not worried about the consequences.

"Don't think that no government worker agrees with Occupy Central," he says. "Many of us are very open-minded. I won't bury my conscience just because of where I work."

Leung says he is particularly angered and upset about what he believes to be police "collusion with triad" in Mong Kok. He says he was at the Mong Kok rally when chaos broke out on October 3 and saw the police "siding with" the anti-Occupy Central people. The police have confirmed that some of the people arrested after violence clashes that day have triad backgrounds.

2pm: Bob Fan Kai-yeung, 66, performs monotyping next to the "umbrella man" statue at the rally in Admiralty.

Fan lays out a sheet of Chinese painting paper on top of the brick footpath and two yellow ribbons, and then uses a sponge to dab black ink on to the paper, so the pattern of the bricks and ribbons are "printed" on the paper.

Fan, an artist who focuses on Western painting, said he wanted to record the protest in this way.

"I've been in Hong Kong for over 60 years," he says. "This place is my home. Now it's deteriorated to such a level. As an old man, what I can do is limited. I can only express my upset through my art works."

He splashes a heavy dash of ink on to the paper as the final touch of the work and a symbol of his disappointment. He says he would also go to Mong Kok and Causeway Bay to do similar art works.

Photo by Shirley Zhao.

1.25pm: An elderly man gets into an argument with security guards and protesters after he throws anti-Occupy Central flyers down a foot bridge leading to the government headquarters in Admiralty.

Li Kwok-Tong, 71, claims to be the head of a Chinese and Western medicine practitioners' society. Protesters booed him.

"You are breaching the law," they shouted.

"I'm protecting Hong Kong's peace and stability from being damaged by the bad elements," Li said. "The three organisers of Occupy Central and the black hands behind them are responsible for this. They need to bear the historical responsibility for their crimes."

Some protesters stopped Li from leaving the scene and called the police. After the police arrived, they took down Li's identity card number.

1.23pm: An ambulance trying to reach someone who has sustained knee injuries is stopped by barricades on Hennessy Road in Causeway Bay.

Photo by Kathy Gao.

1pm: Whether the Hong Kong government sets up a preparation meeting today or tomorrow can show how sincere it is in talking to protesters, says Federation of Students' Alex Chow Yong-kang. If the meeting happens any later than tomorrow, it will sow doubt on the government's integrity and sincerity to talk, the student leader says.

Chow is at the Chief Executive's office at noon, hoping to catch Legco president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing.

Chow says it is hard to take a step back when the government has not shown any sign of backing down.

"The ball is in the government's court," says Chow, on whether protests can be dissolved. "We are all waiting and watching how the government acts, to see if this is their tactic to draw this out or whether they are willing to actually hold dialogue."

Student leader Alex Chow Yong-kang speaks to reporters. Photo: David Wong

"Whether protesters will back off or not - it is up to the government now."

Chow says it is unfair for the government to threaten clearing protest sites with violence, especially when protesters are peaceful.

1pm: Global ratings agencies Moody's and Fitch say they do not see major short-term impacts on Hong Kong's economy and credit ratings from the recent protests.

"The Government of Hong Kong’s Aa1 rating and stable outlook remain supported by the Special Administrative Region’s (SAR) strong buffers -- financial, institutional and economic -- as the Occupy Central protests continue into a second week," said Moody's latest statement on Hong Kong.

"While the impact of the demonstrations will likely have negative consequences on Hong Kong’s near-term economic performance, the key pillars of the SAR’s economy that provide more than half of its output -- trade and logistics, financial, and professional services -- do not seem to be directly affected by the political disorder. Moreover, its economy has proved resilient to previous downturns, such as during the 2008-09 global financial crisis and the SARS epidemic," according to the Moody's statement.

"Into the second week of Hong Kong's Occupy Central protests, Fitch does not expect the situation to affect the SAR's ratings in the short term," said Andrew Colquhoun, Head of Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings at Fitch Ratings.

"Nonetheless, the basic question of governance is on the agenda and could still affect credit fundamentals over the longer term - although it's too early to make that call and the rating remains on Stable Outlook at 'AA+'," said Colquhoun.

12.40pm: two latest videos produced by the Post's multimedia team

12.30pm: Yang Su, an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine and a former student protester during the Tiananmen Square Movement in 1989, writes in an opinion piece on SCMP.com that the success of a student protest is measured in the long term, and today's Hong Kong protesters should preserve their success so far by avoiding further confrontation and potential bloodshed.

12.15pm:

Photo by David Wong.

Jasper Tsang Yok-Sing, Legislative Council chairman, passes by Tim Wa Avenue which leads to the chief executive office.

"We hope that no violence will be used to clear protest sites," he says. "I hope students and the people can leave space and open up a path, so the government will have no excuse to use violence."

Tsang also says he is unsure if the Legislative Council meeting can be held on Wednesday.

"The safety of staff and lawmakers need to be ensured first," he says. Tsang said he won't out rule funding a back up location, but says he doesn't see the need for it at the moment.

"I hope the situation will continue to mellow out, but I understand that protesters have their reasons for staying...I just hope they will leave room for manoeuvre," he added.

12.01pm: The number of demonstrators at the rallying sites on Hong Kong Island has dwindled. A reporter in Admiralty counted around 170 protesters. A reporter in Causeway Bay counted 37 protesters there. Protesters in Admiralty tell they Post they expect more to turn up after school or work.

The Causeway Bay protest site Monday noon. Photo: Kathy Gao

Meanwhile, more demonstrators have flocked to Mong Kok, where between 300 and 400 people are camping out.

Several protesters surrounded a police motorbike and refuse to let the officer leave after traffic police let go of a driver who tried to remove barriers set up at the junction of Mong Kok Road and Nathan Road.

The driver unsuccessfully tried to remove the barriers after they caused traffic to slow down on Mong Kok Road. Five of the road's six lanes are blocked. Traffic police then escorted the man away.

Photo by Timmy Sung.

11.56am: Chow Tai Fook's deputy public relations director Joanna Kot has tendered her resignation on Monday, a Chow Tai Fook spokeswoman confirmed this morning. Update soon, here's the story.

11.48am: Police say they found 10 knives left on a footbridge about 200 metres away from where thousands of pro-democracy protesters staged a week-long sit-in in Admiralty.

The 17-inch knives had been wrapped in a bag left beside a flower bed on the footbridge on Fenwick Street near the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Officers found the bag at around 6.30am on Monday.

Shortly before 1am, another 10 knives had been found by officers near the footbridge, police say. These had been concealed in two backpacks left outside Harcourt House.

No arrests have been made in connection with the knives, police say.

11.26am: About 30 protesters are left at the protest site in Mong Kok, many of whom stayed overnight.

"I'm so confused," says high school student Teresa Lui, one of them. "We haven't figured out what [the government] is trying to do. They have been rumours every night saying they are gonna clear the protest but nothing happened so far," she says.

"I stayed here overnight. My parents have called me many times this morning, urging me to go back to school, although they do support me to come here," she says.
Lui adds she would resume attending school, but continue to join the protest after school, "until we succeed".

Outside the government offices in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong

11.05am: Two trucks - one labelled "food and water" - and a minibus drove in through the road at the chief executive's office, causing a small tiff between the little group of protesters left and officials.

"They broke their promise!" exclaims Yung Wai-tong, 63, who has been here since 11pm last night. He says they trucks did not stop and let protesters check its contents, as in previous nights. "Now we don't know what's been delivered in."

Traffic in Admiralty Monday noon. Photo: David Wong

11.00am: Chan Wing-fai, 68, has been at the Admiralty rally for eight days. .

He says he believes Hongkongers should continue to take to the streets because they are setting an example for people on the mainland.

"Only if you plant a seed will there be the possibility of a forest in the future," says the retiree. "Although there is the Great Firewall, mainland people can still climb over it and see what's happening in Hong Kong. If they visit Hong Kong, they will tell people when they go back about what's happening here."

Protester Chan Wing-fai in Admiralty. Photo: Jeffie Lam

10.48am: Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, a pro-Beijing lawmaker representing the Kowloon West constituency, walks past the chief executive's office this morning en route to the Legislative Council. She says the legislature - which has cancelled all panel meetings because of the occupation - should resume its operations as soon as possible.

The ongoing sit-in has sparked a public outcry, she says, adding that dialogue would be the only way to solve the impasse. "I'm not optimistic towards the outcome of the dialogues between students and government, but it's the only way out," says Leung.

10.44am: Occupy’s Umbrella statue a symbol of peace, says artist 'Milk': Read the full story here.

The Umbrella statue near the government offices in Tamar. Photo: Phila Siu

10.15am: Benedict Ng Pun-tak, a 78-years old retired taxi driver, is one of only ten protesters outside the chief executive's office on Monday.

Ng has been camping at all occupied areas - Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Admiralty and Causeway Bay - since the movement started.

"Wherever there is a risk of clearance, I will be there ... How could you stay at home when you see the students are all out there protesting?" he says.

The sticky notes along the winding staircase leading up to the government offices in Tamar have become an outdoor civic art gallery, as hundreds of Hongkongers post their thoughts, dreams and demands on the wall. Photo: Jennifer Ngo

9.48am: Among the more than 100 people at the Admiralty protest site is flight attendant Charlotte Chan, 22, who has stayed there since September 26.

She says she needed to go back to work next week but she did not expect the rally to last that long. She says she expects the political reform issue would to be settled this week.

"If the protest drags on too long, everyone will get exhausted," she says. "I feel very tired now. I feel like I never slept."

She says more people would return to the streets, if the government failed to give a satisfactory answer to the protesters' demands.

Scene near the government offices, the PLA garrison in Tamar. Photo: David Wong

9.18am: Around 200 protesters stay put in the Mong Kok sit-in site. A notable police presence continues in the area after clashes in previous nights.

A protester, who only gave his surname Chan, said he is not leaving until the government accepts the civil nomination for chief executive candidates and abolishes functional constituency in the Legislative Council, the territory's parliament.

A new banner reading 'If Mong Kok falls, Admiralty won't hold for any longer' in Mong Kok. Photo: Timmy Sung

9.00am: As the number of government employees coming to work grows, the number of protesters on the bridge leading from Admiralty Centre to the government offices and the Legislative Council building has shrunk to just a few.

However, student protester Chan Pui-ching, 18, says this was not the end of Hong Kong's democracy movement.

"We won't re-block the bridge anytime soon," he says. "But now it depends on the talks [between the Federation of Students and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam]. If there are no acceptable results, we may re-block this bridge, or escalate our action."

Chan, who started sleeping in the streets on September 27 in support of the students who rushed into Civic Square, has been at the bridge on and off since Friday morning.

The Hong Kong University SPACE associate degree student says the bridge has been "unguarded" since yesterday, where the small group of protesters allowed the passageway to be reopened. "There are not enough people here for us to retake it anyways, so we will wait," he says.

Scene in Admiralty on Monday morning. Photo: Shirley Zhao

8.45am: Around 20 protesters wait for Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying under the grilling sun outside his office on Tim Wa Avenue, but no sign of Leung yet. The chief executive usually arrives at his office between 7:30am to 8:00am.

8.43am: Sanitation worker Fung Yuen-kwai, 62, says he left home in Shatin half an hour earlier than usual to go his job at the government offices in Tamar.

He says he got off the bus in Wan Chai and walked to Admiralty. Fung says the protests weren't too much of a hassle. "Yes, without the buses, it is trickier, but I don't mind walking over, and the path is wide enough to get me to work," he said.

Fung says he had not received any guidelines from his employer, a cleaning company that provides outsourced services to the government. "You know we are the lowest level of the food chain," he says. "No one really cares."

Fung doesn't get paid for the day if he doesn't work.

Protesters outside the government offices in Tamar. Photo: David Wong

8.36am: Severe traffic jam on King's Road westbound between Fortress Hill and Causeway Bay. Three lanes full of cars, buses and trucks move very slowly. The opposite direction is mostly empty except for buses and a few cars.

8.19am: Commuters trying to avoid Causeway Bay and Admiralty take to the hills on Monday morning, jamming onto Tai Hang and Stubbs roads. Happy Valley roads heading uphill away from the protests are bumper to bumper at 7.30am on streets that are normally sparsely traveled at this hour.

7.54am: Crowd estimates across protest sites from our reporters at the scene:

Causeway Bay: Around 100 people remain at the stronghold. At least a dozen students said they'd leave for school.

Admiralty: Around 100 people remain on a spread-out occupied area. Some 50 protesters are outside the Chief Executive's office in Tamar.

Mong Kok: Between 100 and 200 people continue to occupy Nathan Road at the intersection to Argyle Street.

Police entering the government office at Tamar on Monday morning. Photo: David Wong

In case you missed it: Hongkongers abroad play a key role in Occupy movement

7.41am: Government employees begin to trickle in at the government headquarters in Tamar. The footbridge connecting Admiralty Centre and CGO is largely unblocked. Nearby, about 20 young protesters sit idly and watch the civil servants enter the previously blocked entrance.

Protesters had previously agreed to open a three-metre wide path at the staff entrance.

The civil servants appear to be more impatient with dozens of reporters trying to interview them than with the protesters.

The footbridge connecting the government offices with Citic Tower and United Centre remains blocked by metal fences.

Protest slogans in Admiralty on Monday morning. Photo: Phila Siu

In case you missed it: Rumour Buster: separating truth from fiction amid the Occupy protests

7.30am: Middle-schools resume classes in Wan Chai, Central and Western districts on Monday. Primary schools and kindergartens remain closed.

A protester sleeps as the sun rises in Causeway Bay. Photo: Danny Lee

 

[Ridgewalkers]

Re: LKY will support HK democracy movements!



Britain has ‘abandoned’ Hong Kong: former chief secretary

Anson Chan writes that Hong Kong has been "betrayed by China, and abandoned by Britain"

PUBLISHED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 1:14pm
UPDATED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 2:00pm

James Griffiths [email protected]

Former Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang. Photo: May Tse

Former Hong Kong chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang has blasted the British government’s “profoundly disappointing responses” to pro-democracy protests that have rocked the city since late September.

In an op-ed article for the Guardian newspaper, Chan, now head of the moderate pro-democracy think tank Hong Kong 2020, writes that the UK has “a moral and legal responsibility to Hong Kong”.

“It did after all sign a treaty, back in 1984, that guaranteed Hong Kong’s core values and way of life, including freedom of speech and assembly, until 2047.”

She bemoans Britain’s unwillingness to risk a stand-off with Beijing: “Their first instinct is to keep their heads low; they just want things to carry on as before, would like the protests to disappear, and maintain good relations with China.”

Chan served as chief secretary to both the British colonial government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government under China’s rule, and has been a sharp critic of Beijing’s electoral reform framework.

Describing the city government’s reform consultation process, of which Hong Kong 2020 was an active participant, as a “sham”, she writes that Beijing’s proposal – which would see Hongkongers elect the next chief executive by universal suffrage, but only after a pro-China nominating committee screens all candidates – “is in no way acceptable”.

“[Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s report] to the Chinese leadership was dishonest and misrepresented the sentiments of the Hong Kong people,” Chan writes.

In a report to Beijing, Leung claimed that the Hong Kong government’s five-month consultation process showed support for a nominating committee modelled on the 1,200-member election committee from the 2012 poll, in which he was voted into office by just 689 people. The report also said that “mainstream opinion” was against undermining the committee’s right to nominate by giving the public a say, something Chan describes as a “dishonest”.

Leung, who Chan says is “in the pockets of Beijing”, will find it increasingly difficult to govern Hong Kong as he and his team “have little credibility left” with the city’s people.

Chan argues that the best way for Beijing to secure Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability “is by allowing one person, one vote”.

“Many of these young people [protesting on the streets] only know life after Chinese rule. They are worried about many of the same things that worry young people in Britain and elsewhere. Will they find a good job? Will they ever be able to buy a home?

“Now within the territory there is a sense of them and us. Those who make money are tempted to stay quiet, to maintain their links, their status. The rest, they want what many people want across the world – a good education and an open society,” Chan concludes.

Chan's concerns have been echoed by her former boss Chris Patten, on Saturday the last colonial governor called on the Hong Kong government to "offer its people a proper second round of consultation, one that is open and honest."

While a prominent supporter of the protests – which entered their ninth day on Monday, though with far fewer numbers and less disruption to traffic – Chan urged students on Sunday to step back for the sake of their own safety after Leung issued a strongly-worded warning that schools and government offices “must open on Monday”.

Civil servants returned to work at the government complexes in Admiralty on Monday morning without issue, and middle-schools in Wan Chai, Central and Western districts resumed classes.

 

[Ridgewalkers]

Re: HK should hold Referendum on its future


Heavily-censored, Weibo users show support for Hong Kong's Occupy protests in satire

PUBLISHED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 4:20pm
UPDATED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 4:36pm

Chris Luo [email protected]

Censorship on Weibo reached a new record this year on the weekend the Occupy Central protests officially kicked off. Photo: EPA

On China’s microblogging platform Weibo, where pro-Occupy Central comments are strictly censored, defiant bloggers use jokes and satire to express their support for Hong Kong’s student movement.

Ever since the Occupy Central protests appealing for “genuine” universal suffrage in the election for chief executive in 2017 officially kicked-off over a week ago, the government in Beijing has been censoring all non-official information regarding to movement, leaving only rigorously critical official narratives.

But some defiant users are resorting humour and irony to get round the government-dictated agenda.

Novelist Xia Shang, for example, commented on University of Hong Kong’s President Peter Mathieson’s open letter condemning the police decision to use tear gas. “How dare HKU’s president write such letter? It is only because: there is no party committee [in the school],” he wrote in a posting, referring to the organ attached to every university across the mainland that answers directly to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Another user with the non-verified account ‘Youth League Committee of Zhejiang University's Department of Philosphy’ wrote: “Student movements before 1949 [the year when the People’s Republic of China was founded] … were all patriotic, but since 1949 they have all incited by overseas forces,” referring apparently to a commonly-used phrase in official narratives to label the source of unwelcome protests.

“I wonder, why have students turned bad since the nation [PRC] was founded?” the blogger quipped. This veiled satire was, however, removed along with the entire blog account on Thursday morning.

And Mo Jiaqing, a consultant at a Hunan-based think tank, made fun of CCP propaganda that frequently trumpets China’s “advanced” society.

“If nearly 1.4 billion people in China mainland are benefiting from the world’s best society … then why not share it with Hong Kong’s seven million and Taiwan’s 23 million residents, instead of letting them suffer in the capitalist world under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle?”

Another blogger, posting under the alias ‘Ying Tai Shuo Shi’ satirised alleged threats made by an elderly official critical of Occupy Central that claimed: “If [Hong Kong is] not obeying central government and disturbing social disorder, [Beijing] can simply cut its water supply, leaving them to drink sea-water.”

The blogger wrote: “Reply: Watch out, Hong Kong may cut off your grandson’s milk formula” referring to the situation over the last few years where mainlanders have flocked to buy milk powder from Hong Kong as a result of increasing food safety concerns at home.

Censorship on Weibo reached a new record this year. The number of posts that could not be accessed increased five-fold on the weekend following the beginning of the Occupy Central protests, according to Weiboscope, a censorship monitoring project at the University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre.

As of Monday Weibo’s built-in search engine still does not allow users to search for blog postings with keywords like “Occupy Central” or “Student Movement”, citing “relevant law and policy”.

 

[Ridgewalkers]

Re: LKY will support HK democracy movements!


LIVE: No action to be taken to clear access to government headquarters tonight, say officials

PUBLISHED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 7:12am
UPDATED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 7:29pm

Staff reporters

Protesters remain vocal in Mong Kok. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Welcome to our continuing 24-hour Occupy Central coverage.

After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites are quiet on Monday as some demonstrators leave for work, others remain and authorities keep their distance.

Occupy supporters and the government are currently in a deadlock over negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow with both sides disagreeing on the guidelines behind the meetings.

7.15pm Admiralty: Officials say there would be no further action taken to clear entrances and exits blocked by protesters at government headquarters on Monday night, but they would continue negotiations with protesters blocking access there.

Protesters partially opened one entrace to Central Government Headquarters in Admiralty on today, following Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's warning on Saturday that all the head offices' entrances must be cleared by Monday, adding that the police had the responsiblity to resume social order.

The protest site in Admiralty on Monday evening. Photo: David Wong

But Director of Administration Kitty Choi said on Tuesday this did not mean that the government would take action to clear entrances to the building at a later date.

"We would like to resume the operation of [government headquarters] as soon as possible," said Choi. "I think dialogue is still the best way [to achieve this]."

Choi called for protesters to open up vehicular access to the government complex to allow logistics such as internal document deliveries, delivery of supplies and access for disabled employees to resume.

She said so far about 2,000 cross-departmental deliveries had been obstructed and 50 departments had been affected.

Commenting on civil servants wearing yellow ribbons to work, Choi said that she believed that this would not affect the ability of government employees to do their jobs professionally.

Meanwhile, Albert Su, Assistant Commissioner for Transport, said the Occupy movement created serious traffic congestion around Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, with queues of vehicles as long as 7 kilometres seen in certain parts of the city on Monday, after secondary schools in Wan Chai and Central and Western districts resumed classes today.

But Su admitted that private car owners could help ease the situation by not driving into Hong Kong Island, and said the government had set up a committee do seek solutions to the problem of too many private cars in the city.

All 51 primary schools in Wan Chai and Central and Western districts will resume classes tomorrow. Sophia Wong, Principal Assistant Secretary of the Education Bureau, said the bureau would consider the date for kindergartens in these areas to resume depending on how well secondary and primary schools operated after resuming classes.

6.45pm: The Education Bureau announces that classes at all primary schools and special schools in Wan Chai district and Central and Western district will resume tomorrow, while kindergartens classes in the two the districts will remain suspended.

6.30pm Admiralty: Occupy protesters hand out flowers and soup to government employees getting off work. Terusa Poon, a middle-aged housewife, prepared pots of hot soup for civil servants who had just finished their day's work at the Central Government Offices in Admiralty. "I hope both camps show more mutual understanding [towards each other]," Poon said. "I hope the civil servants understand that the students are only here to fight for democracy and a better Hong Kong."

Protesters hand flowers to government workers in Admiralty. Photo: Jennifer Ngo

6.15pm Causeway Bay: Protester numbers are on the rise again in Causeway Bay as the sun sets. Roughly 100 protesters are present as more arrive after work. Some are having an open debate on the movement with anti-Occupy people. Things are largely peaceful and policemen are patrolling around the area.

Photo by Kathy Gao.

5.45pm: The public has lodged 275 complaints against the Hong Kong police since Occupy Central started on 28 September, all of which involve accusations of failure to perform their duty or misuse of police power, says chief superintendent of Police Public Relations Branch Hui Chun-tak.

At Monday afternoon's police briefing in Wan Chai, Hui also says that police have made 37 arrests in Mong Kok so far. Another 5 arrests were made in relation to suspected cyber crimes, in a case where a link was posted online for people to hack government websites with.

A total of 27 police officers have been injured on duty, including one officer who needed 5 stitches on his forehead after being hit with a rock in Mong Kok, and another police officer who had a fractured finger.

Hui also confirms that 25 knives with the same number of pairs of gloves were found at two locations near the protest site in Admiralty. No motives have been established and no one has been arrested yet, he says.

On the case of the auxiliary police officer who joined protests, Hui says the officer's superior has received a verbal notice but yet to receive a written letter of resignation.

"The officer has been suspended from all his posts," he says. "A disciplinary investigation will be conducted shortly."

Hui also fended off criticism that the police failed to properly handle violent situations, especially those in Mong Kok.

"It is extremely unfair to our frontline officers [to say that]," he said. He also denied that any plainclothes cops instigated trouble by joining crowds or pretending to be protesters.

On traffic disruption, around 2.9km of roads are still occupied, says Lee Kwok-Chung, senior superintendent of Traffic Branch Headquarters.

Many students spent a longer time commuting to school in Wanchai, Central and Mid-levels area, Lee says.

The queue through the Cross Harbour Tunnel and Kai Tak tunnel was also much longer, at 7km this morning, compared to the usual 2.5km, stretching all the way to Laguna City in Kwun Tong.

"The road blocks in Northern Hong Kong Island have affected even east Kowloon," says Lee.

The queues to Central also went from 4km to 9km this morning.

5.30pm: A Hong Kong government source tells the Post that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying had move the venue of a meeting with the consul general of an English-speaking country, who paid Leung a courtesy call on Monday afternoon.

The meeting took place at the Government House instead of the Chief Executive’s Office as originally scheduled, because protesters continued to block the entrance to Leung's office.

“It is unsatisfactory for diplomatic protocol. There is difference between meeting the chief executive in his office and his residence,” the government source says.

Leung’s meetings with the counsel generals from two other countries by Wednesday have also been rescheduled to the Government House.

5.20pm: Alfred Wong,19, student, is one of the roughy 20 protesters on Tim Wa Avenue, near the Chief Executive Office. His face shows the toll of nine days of protest and very little sleep.

He has decided to stay at the protest site because he thinks it is a symbolic and important place to guard. "I think we should stop CY Leung from getting to work," he said. "And the police may have decided to clear the area, so I want to help."

Wong says he has hope in the talks between student groups and the government. But the outcome can't be anything other than "true democracy," he says.

An MTR direction sign in Central has an umbrella added to the hand of the "walking man" figure. Photo: Adam Renton

 

[goodtool]

Re: LKY will support HK democracy movements!

Strange.... was Chris Patten elected via one men one vote??

Britain has ‘abandoned’ Hong Kong: former chief secretary

 

[rushifa666]

Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed

Idiots. The truth does not matter. The REALITY is the PUBLIC PERCEPTION that China is tearing up an agreement with thatcher since 1990s that HONG KONG IS AUTONOMOUS. Fuck the communism or democracy or west vs east bs. I leave to your own judgement why china must publish a white paper, if they are CERTAIN they totally have the rights to choose a candidate. You are not even barking up the wrong tree. You are in the wrong forest

 

[winnipegjets]

Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed

singapore is not a sovereign country either, with one million occupation force of PRCs and traitors in the govt collaborating with them.

2.94 million foreigners versus 2.5 million sinkees ...we are being outnumbered. We are not minority in our own country!

 

[winnipegjets]

Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed

HK government can easily defuse the situation ...offer monetary help to any hongkee that want to emigrate; maybe USD200k per person. Then those who choose to remain are those that love communist rule.

 

[frenchbriefs]

Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed

HK government can easily defuse the situation ...offer monetary help to any hongkee that want to emigrate; maybe USD200k per person. Then those who choose to remain are those that love communist rule.

200k per person?thats hilarious.i would gladly give up my citizenship for 50k usd......

 

[Ridgewalkers]

Re: Umbrella revolution live broadcast


LIVE: Hong Kong democracy protesters, officials push for a dialogue 'this week'

PUBLISHED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 10:19pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 12:20am

Staff Reporters

Good evening and welcome to our continuing 24-hour Occupy Central coverage.

After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites were quiet on Monday as some demonstrators left for work, others remained and authorities kept their distance.

Occupy supporters and the government are currently in a deadlock over negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow, with both sides disagreeing on the guidelines behind the meetings.

Stay tuned for breaking news.

12.05am: Mong Kok: About 500 sit-in protesters, according to a reporter's estimate, and a number of onlookers are lingering at the bustling junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street. The atmosphere is peaceful and relaxed.

A public forum is ongoing, punctured by occasional applause. Other groups formed circles and talked about their political views, while others sang Cantonese rock group Beyond's Under a Vast Sky, a popular anthem during the recent protests.

An estimated 200 uniformed and plain-clothes policemen standing at every corner around the site.

11.48pm: Admiralty: A bus carrying police officers, as well as a truck transporting dinner boxes, have just left the government complex in Tamar, Admiralty. Since police caused alarm by shipping riot gear to Tamar last week (some said using an ambulance), students have been on guard about what goes in and out of the government HQ.

A group of about 10 protesters who refuse to give up their base started tying metal barriers together with plastic strips to make it harder to remove the barricade on Lung Wo Road.

"I am doing this because police cheated us at beginning and they carried weapons inside," said Alice Ng, 26, a master's degree student.

"All we want is to be informed of what's inside the trucks. They let us check a few times, but now because there's less people they don't even reply to us. That's why I feel angry," she said.

Ng decided to camp out in Admiralty because she wanted to prevent any more weapons from being transported to the government complex. "We feel that we are not getting enough respect. I am a bit disappointed," she said.

11.32pm: With a target of holding talks this week, students protesters are concerned about some details of the proposed dialogue.

Federation of Students deputy leader Lester Shum said constitutional affairs undersecretary Lau Kong-wah's stance on the matter - saying that the national legislature's framework should be followed if Hong Kong wants electoral reform - might be an obstacle that makes constructive dialogue difficult.

He also said that the students wanted the dialogue to be held in the University of Hong Kong, or any other university, and that they were at odds with government representatives on this point.

"We also want it to be a substantive dialogue, not just a casual chat or a consultative session," added Shum, who appeared in a press conference with fellow student leaders Nathan Law and Eason Chung.

From left: Eason Chung, Lester Shum and Nathan Law from the Hong Kong Federation of Students speak to the press after meeting the constitutional affairs undersecretary. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

11.17pm: Fifty-nine financial sector heavyweights have signed an open letter on the Occupy protests, saying: “Disrupting the social order of Hong Kong is not helpful to the development and discussion of the political reforms. Nor would it solve any problem.”

Among the signatories are Executive Council member and Asia Financial Holdings president Bernard Chan, legislator and Bank of China (Hong Kong) Trustees chairman Ng Leung-sing, and Bangkok Bank Public Company vice-president Leo Kung Lin-cheng.

They also expressed concern about clashes and conflicts during the protests in recent days. “If the situation continues to worsen, the success made after the hard work and efforts of generations of Hong Kong people would go down to the drain. The victims will be Hong Kong people,” the letter said.

10.55pm: After the second preparatory meeting in two days with the Federation of Students, undersecretary for constitutional affairs Lau Kong-wah said he had agreed with student representatives that the first official dialogue should be held this week, and that the session will be open. But he said they couldn't agree on the venue of the dialogue yet, and what issues about political reform to discuss.

He will meet the students again tomorrow to resolve these two problems, Lau said, and hoped this would be the last preparatory meeting before the students' dialogue with the chef secretary Carrie Lam.

Lau also said he agreed with the students that instead of an one-off meeting, there should be multiple rounds of dialogue, which would be "conducted on an equal and mutually-respectful basis".

Lau also said the national legislature's framework should be followed if Hong Kong wanted to reform its electoral system.

10.40pm: Admiralty: Scholarism's Joshua Wong Chi-fung urges the government not to use different tactics to suppress Hong Kong people participating in the movement. "The more Hong Kong people are suppressed, the greater the resistance," said Wong. "I urge the government to show sincerity and begin discussions with students as soon as possible." Wong said he was optimistic that occupations of Mong Kok, Admiralty and Causeway Bay could pressure Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to meet students sometime this week.

10.30pm: Admiralty: Wong Yeung-tat, leader of radical activist group Civic Passion takes to the stage in Admiralty, urging protesters not to give up Occupy zones in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. He said mainstream media such as TVB continued to spread "white terror" about how dangerous these areas were, when in reality, the situation on the ground had already improved.

"We have got past the worst," he said. "We shouldn't have to pull out of these areas just because of some political considerations... I must say, if we had really lost Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, this protest site at Connaught Road Central would not have been sustained. People, don't forget: every Occupy point has been fought for very hard."

Crowds have thinned but are holding on to Connaught Road in Admiralty. Photo: Chris Lau

10.20pm: Causeway Bay: Numbers remain strong at Causeway Bay this evening, with around 200 people remaining at the Hennessy Road protest camp. Police officers guarding the camp remained at a distance while protesters sleep or sit, with many expecting the barricades to be breached. The threat exists but the police are seemingly not taking action. The fact that the camp with so few people still remains intact is astonishing for some.

District councillor Paul Zimmerman, who made an appearance in Causeway Bay, urged protesters to move to the main camp in Admiralty: "I think people in Causeway Bay should pack up and and go to Admiralty. "Why occupy the city with an empty space? Return or reduce part of the pressure on the city. They'll be seen to be doing some good to the community by giving people the city back."

Civic Passion leader Wong yeung-tat attracts a crowd of 50 people taking lively Q&As before heading to the government office in Admiralty.

Meanwhile Hennessy Road resident Minh Tran described the Occupy protests as "not much of an inconvenience." He said it has been really nice with much less traffic and pollution in the area.

"Report assesses the impact of the street protests on the Hong Kong economy. Confidence in the economy is holding up well, though short term impacts for retail and tourism."

10.10pm: Admiralty: representatives from student activist groups and Occupy Central founder Benny Tai appear on stage to address the crowd.

Scholarism's Joshua Wong Chi-fung said the government could not even compromise on basic requirements such as treating students on the same level and executing students' requests.

"Is it a publicity stunt or are they really listening to the voice of the students?" he asked.

The crowd should not be retreating and what needed to be withdrawn was the election framework laid out by Beijing, Wong said, questioning the appeal by university heads asking protesters to leave.

Tai hoped people affected by the movement could understand who caused the inconvenience.

"Who is the mastermind?" he yelled. The crowd replied: "CY Leung."

10pm: The crowd in Admiralty is noticeably smaller than previous nights, yet the protesters appear to be as united as ever. A group of ethnic minority protesters were invited to the stage to give a speech. "Although our appearance is different, we are true blue Hongkongers," one protester said onstage. He said he had been touched by the efforts of the students, and over the past few days, "we have never felt such a strong sense of belonging," said the man in Cantonese.

The protesters then led the crowd to a sing-along session of one of local band Beyond's popular tunes. Here's a live stream from the protest stage in Admiralty:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/752JJEQSYTI?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

9.45pm: About 50 people are currently gathered in front of the chief executive's office, with some of them having just finished work. Luss Wong, 31, an IT specialist, decided to come after work to show his dissatisfaction with the government's performance.

"This government, CY Leung, lies to citizens." said Wong. "The main problem is the elections in 2017. I think he doesn't report our views to the Chinese government."

Wong decided to join the protest in Tamar because he was aware that today most people would be working and the area would be emptier. He also said he has little hope in the conversations between students and government.

Meanwhile, a taxi passed by Lung Wo Road and a passenger shouted at protesters, calling them "brainless" and yelling "you all deserve to sleep on the streets". The protesters started clapping and ironically saying: "Thanks for the support". Many other occupants in cars passing by today have cheered the protesters.

Protesters sit under a pedestrian walkway in Tamar. Photo: David Wong

9.30pm: While there has been an outcry from the commercial sector on how the Occupy movement has affected the city's business activities, organisers of the Asia Contemporary Art Show said it had a limited impact on its sales. Fair director Mark Saunderson said many collectors still made the effort to visit the hotel art fair, which took place in the Conrad Hong Kong, despite traffic around Admiralty being sealed off throughout the four-day fair period. “We are pleased with the outcome, considering the protests which continued through all four days of the show."

9pm: Undersecretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Lau Kong-wah and representatives of the Federation of Students are set to hold another round of preparatory talks at the University of Hong Kong campus at 9pm, before talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor can go ahead.

The protest site in Mong Kok. Photo: K.Y Cheng

8.45pm: Mong Kok: A police presence builds in Mong Kok, with plain-clothed and uniformed officers stationed at all four corners of the protest site to prevent possible clashes. More people joined the sit-in at the junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street after work. Fion, who works in the catering industry, says she came after work to support the student protesters. "I don't think it is too dangerous because there are many people here."

8.15pm: A group of more than 50 mainland lawyers, scholars and other citizens have issued a statement in support of Hong Kong people's pursuit of democracy - while calling for democratic progress on the mainland.

In the statement signed by lawyers including human rights lawyer Teng Biao and others from different parts of the country, the group says Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying "misled" the national legislature into giving the city a framework for the 2017 chief executive election.

"[Leung] must be held responsible for misleading the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) with his report of political reform," the statement read. "He must listen to the advice of different social sectors and make remedial measures."

"At the same time we feel that China is closely linked to Hong Kong's," it says. The group strongly demands the NPCSC to start, without hesitation, legislating for the direct elections of deputies to local people's congresses at provincial and municipal levels, "so that people's rights to elect and to be elected are implemented and a government by the people is built."

The group also said it objects to any violence and human rights abuses. It notes that Hong Kong protesters' demand for public nomination in the 2017 election is legitimate.

Protesters sit under a pedestrian walkway in Tamar. Photo: David Wong

 

[Ridgewalkers]

Re: Umbrella revolution live broadcast


World powers split over Occupy, but most agree that Beijing unlikely to budge

PUBLISHED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 5:00pm
UPDATED : Monday, 06 October, 2014, 9:04pm

Toh Han Shih

Police officers arrive at the chief executive's office in Admiralty as Occupy Central protesters camp out. Photo: David Wong

Foreign ministers and experts from around the world have been voicing very differing opinions on the Occupy Central movement, ranging from sympathy for the protesters, or support for Beijing. Yet they all seem to agree one on thing: it's not likely that Beijing will be swayed by the scale of recent protests in Hong Kong.

On October 5, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), a US government body that advises US Congress on Sino-US relations, said, “We support an open and democratic system in Hong Kong based on universal suffrage, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly.

"We urge Hong Kong’s leadership to adopt an election process based on universal suffrage which provides a genuine choice of candidates representing the true aspirations of the Hong Kong people. We urge Hong Kong and Chinese authorities to exercise restraint and respect protesters’ right to express their views in a peaceful manner.”

In an interview with the Washington Post published on October 2, Jeff Bader, a former Asia adviser to US President Barack Obama, said that Beijing would likely stick to its position on Occupy Central.

“None of us should delude ourselves that there could be a change of heart or softness coming from China just around the corner,” Bader said.

He said he expected the Occupy Central protests would not last much longer.

“It’s unrealistic to think that millions of Hongkongers are going to remain supportive, or even tolerant, over [the] weeks as the city grinds to a halt. Sympathies are going to shift if it continues. People may be sympathetic, but reality and the needs of daily life intrude. So [Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying’s] strategy so far of watching and waiting is not stupid,” Bader added.

On October 1, the White House said President Obama and National Security Adviser Susan Rice expressed their hope that differences between Hong Kong authorities and protesters would be addressed peacefully.

“The United States has consistently supported the open system that is essential to Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, universal suffrage, and the aspirations of the Hong Kong people,” the White House said in a statement.

On October 5, Charles Powell, who served as private secretary to then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China during the 1980s, told the BBC he did not believe the protest would bring about change.

“The position about elections has been clear since the law was published in 1991 and I don’t believe for one moment that Chinese are going to change that basic position,” Powell said, adding: “Hong Kong has always been part of China. We rented it for a while and we didn’t introduce democracy.”

The British peer is now a director of a Hong Kong property developer, Hong Kong Land Holdings, and chairman of the UK government’s Asia Task Force.

On October 4, Singapore Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam was quoted by local media as saying China was unlikely to give in to the demands of Occupy Central protesters, as doing so could affect China’s stability.

“China will be firm – it is not going to institute any major political change to copy Western models in the short term. The leadership believes that any such move would be disastrous for China and could hurt the people of China,” Shanmugam said.

There has been lots of anti-China bias in Western media reports, Shanmugam continued, noting that Western reports often stated that China is denying democracy and impacting on the freedoms that helped Hong Kong become successful.

Hong Kong did not have a democratic system for 150 years under British rule, yet Hong Kong still prospered, Shanmugam said.

The Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 does not mention universal suffrage, and Beijing’s proposal is “more than what Hong Kong ever had under the British” – a point which the Western media have missed, Shanmugam said.

"Occupy Central protesters in Hong Kong need to understand that China has acted in accordance with the Basic Law," Shanmugam said.

Protesters need to understand Hong Kong’s “extreme reliance” on China for jobs and their livelihood. There needs to be a clear understanding of China’s largesse towards Hong Kong even as an anti-China mood is stoked up. Is the average Hongkonger prepared for the trade-offs?”, Shanmugam concluded.

 

[cunnosieur]

Honky Tong News - HK to Beijing: 老共，丢你老挴！

老共，丢你老挴!

我嗐得咯！

 

[cunnosieur]

Re: Honky Tong News - HK to Beijing: 老共，丢你老挴！

HKongers say: 丢睾你，老共!

 

[rushifa666]

Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos

I don't mind our government take over our northern neighbours

who is this cocksucker? Joined during national day? IB?

 

[halsey02]

Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed

No natural resources, don't know hard work... it sounds so familiar. Once upon a time it made perfect sense to me, now it triggers my bullshit alarm. Of course with a one party parliament there is only one solution laid out for you. You think you visit a chicken rice stall can ask for bak kut teh is it?

Singapore parliament should be like the hawker center, many stalls to choose what suits you. So many years of fast food from the PAP will give you high blood pressure if you don't moderate your intake of junk food.

Oh!...then, the "singapore parliament" should follow the trend in the hawker centre...allow the 'ah tiong's' to set up stalls & even let them with truckloads of money...take over the stalls....ha ha ha

 

[winnipegjets]

Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed

Oh!...then, the "singapore parliament" should follow the trend in the hawker centre...allow the 'ah tiong's' to set up stalls & even let them with truckloads of money...take over the stalls....ha ha ha

Democracy lah ...not hawker centre style system. I had enough of the uniquely sinkapore improvisation. At the end of the day, it makes certain people richer and the rest of us losers.
Democracy is tried and tested. Not the best, but better than anything available. Just do it.

 

[firmerterra]

Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos

who is this cocksucker? Joined during national day? IB?

This Cocksucker has been here since seeing a number of shit stirrers who say shit about our government. FYI I prefer oysters.

 

[Reddog]

Re: Honky Tong News - HK to Beijing: 老共，丢你老挴！

Without China, how will HK survive ??

 

[Ridgewalkers]

Re: HK should hold Referendum on its future


LIVE: Hong Kong's democracy protests enter 10th day as progress on talks stalls

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 7:06am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 11:11am

Staff reporters

Protesters awake to another day in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee

Good morning and welcome to our continuing 24-hour Occupy Central coverage.

After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites were quiet in the night to Tuesday as authorities kept their distance.

Occupy supporters and the government are currently in a deadlock over negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow, with both sides disagreeing on the guidelines behind the meetings.

Stay tuned for all the breaking news.

____________________________________

10.45am: Writing in his Lai See column, Howard Winn warns that the Umbrella movement is heading for an unhappy ending.

Harry's View on the Umbrella movement this morning.

10am: Volunteer attendants continue to keep the public toilets clean around the Admiralty protest site.

Polly Lui, 40, a health assistant at a hospital, has been helping out after work since last Sunday.

"I first saw young students do the cleaning in the toilet and was so touched by it,” she says “They probably did not lift a finger to do housework at home before, but now they are doing that here for everyone.”

All the daily necessities a woman needs can be found at the toilet, including shampoo, facial cleanser, cotton buds, tampons, contact lens cleaner and other cosmetics – all there to be shared among protesters. And the toilet is yet to run out of tissue since the protests started.

"If the toilet is clean, everyone feels more at ease being here," Lui says.

Volunteer cleaner Polly Lui. Photo: Emily Tsang

9.40am: Defiant protester Lam Poa-yuen, a 36-year-old flight attendant, says she arrived in Causeway Bay this morning after taking her child to primary school.

She’s been coming to the protest site as often as she can because she works irregular hours, and usually comes at night when her children and family are asleep.

“Whenever I have time, I come to this area in Causeway Bay because I feel like they need more people here. I was very tired yesterday so I didn't come at night. I felt bad about that so I'm here now,” she says.

“Everyone deserves the right to vote for their leader. As the government has ignored our rallies and polls, this is the only way to make ourselves heard.

“I'm not going to rest. I'll leave when there's no one else here and there's nothing I can do. I won't accept it if nothing changes after these protests. If that happens, we should escalate until the government caves in.

“There are maybe 500 people here in the evenings. There was one or two days when there were very few people here and morale was low.

“Maybe a lot of parents will say we're getting in the way of people going to work or school. I think that's extremely selfish. This is a short-term sacrifice of a few days for the greater goal of democracy. Do they want their children to live in a place where the government can blatantly do whatever it wants?”

9.30am: Volunteers at Admiralty announce over a loudspeaker that a member of the public has donated boxes of egg tarts for breakfast, as protesters wake up in the sun and enjoy their food.

Free coffee and tea are also available at the resource centre.

9.15am: Some parents taking their children to school in Wan Chai this morning say that protests have added up to 20 minutes to their commute:

“Of course we're affected,” says Winnie Tang Ka-mun, 46, whose son is in primary school year four. “We walked to school. The school bus was running, but we wanted to avoid traffic.

“My son's school assigned quite a bit of homework so I'm not too worried about his education.

“I think the protestors are well-intentioned, but their tactics aren't very smart. Not everyone will blame the government for the disruption. Why not just Occupy Central? How many places do they need to block?”

Good to be back: Students of Wah Yan in Wan Chai return to school. Primary schools in Central, Western and Wan Chai re-open today, after a week-long suspension due to the occupation of major roads by pro-democracy protesters. Photo: Sam Tsang

9.05am: As Tim Wa Avenue outside the chief executive's office remains blocked by protesters, this morning’s Executive Council meeting is being held at Leung Chun-ying's Government House residence.

By 9am, at least seven ministers, including chief secretary Carrie Lam, justice secretary Rimsky Yuen, and ministers for commerce, development, labour, environment and constitutional affairs had arrived in their cars.

None of the officials stopped to answer the media's questions.

Carrie Lam arrives at Government House. Photo: May Tse

9am: Some 20 protesters are outside the entrance to the chief executive’s office at Tim Wa Avenue.

Alexandra Wong, a 58-year-old retired accountant, says she has been protesting since day one. She says very few people chose to stay overnight at this location because of poor air quality and the noisy environment.

But she says she will fight till the end. “If not, the government would not make a sincere promise," she adds.

Social worker Issac Wong says he stays at the chief executive’s office because he hopes the city's leader, Leung Chun-ying, can listen to the voice of the people.

Pro-democracy messages stuck to a wall in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee

8.50am: Civil servants are turning up for work at government headquarters in Admiralty, accessing their offices through the footbridge from Admiralty Centre, where a small passage has been left for them to walk through the partially blocked entrance. Another passage through Citic Tower footbridge remains completely blocked.

Reporters ask Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, director of the Lands Department, if she had a smooth trip to the office. She said it was "quite good" but added: " hope the roads will be unblocked as soon as possible."

Civil servants arrive for work in Admiralty. Photo: Emily Tsang

Bernadette Linn arrives at work. Photo: Emily Tsang

8.45am: Rick Tang, convenor of the China Rule of Law Forum, writes that protesters should leave now – or be made to leave by force – so we can begin to build a solid democratic system within the Basic Law.

8.30am: A Post reporter on the ground estimates there are just 31 protesters at the Causeway Bay site.

Meanwhile, in Mong Kok there are still some 100 demonstrators.

Mong Kok wakes to another day of protest. Photo: Danny Mok

Hundreds of policeman finish the night shift outside the chief executive's office. Photo: Tony Cheung

8am: Crowd estimates by our reporters on the ground:

Admiralty: 200

Mong Kok: 100

7.45am: Lucas Wong Wing-ki, 22, a self-proclaimed part-time magician with a higher diploma in computer studies, treats protesters to a morning magic show. He gets a few rounds of applause from a sparse crowd of sleepy protesters.

His trick of choice: placing a bottle cap upside down on the mouth of a bottle and flicking a playing card in between.

"The cards represent Hong Kong people, the cap represents an objective," he said. "It might take many tries but whether or not you can hit the target depends on how hard you take action."

He said the manifestation of Occupy Central was in and of itself "magical". "I hope the magic will not die."

7.30am: Commuters are leaving their homes early on Tuesday as primary schools in Wan Chai, Central and Western districts resume classes.

7.15am: It's morning in Admiralty and about 200 protesters remain scattered across Harcourt Road and Connaught Road Central after another trouble-free night. Temperatures have dropped to a breezy 24 degrees overnight - perfect weather for an extra few minutes of shut eye.

Admiralty on Tuesday morning. Photo: Ernest Kao

Mong Kok on Tuesday morning. Photo: Danny Mok

7am: The Post's front-page on Tuesday:

6.45am: Here are some excerpts of our Occupy Central coverage on Tuesday:

Protests raise fears of through train launch delay

As protests continue for a second week in the city, speculation is mounting over the so-called though train scheme that's set to allow cross-border stock trading with Shanghai by this month as the authorities are still refusing to provide a clear launch date.

There are limits to the exceptions you can enjoy, Hong Kong warned

There were limits to the exceptions granted to Hong Kong by the central government, the latest Beijing commentary on the Occupy sit-ins said.

Beijing won't yield to Occupy Central, says ex-Thatcher aide Charles Powell

A former aide to late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher says it is naive to expect Beijing to yield to Occupy Central's demands.

Retail sales crash 40pc over holiday period, says management group poll

Retailers reported a decline in sales of between 30 per cent and 40 per cent in the first five days following the National Day holiday on October 1.

Editorial: Protesters have been heard loud and clear; now it's time for dialogue

A willingness to listen to reason has also been shown by protesters in allowing limited access to government headquarters in Admiralty so that civil servants can return to work.

6.35am: A round-up of the front-pages in the local Chinese press:

Mingpao: Federation of Students and government might enter talks this week. Agreement reached on three principles in preparatory meeting.

Apple Daily: "Shanghai Boy" chief protégé helped mess up Occupy Mong Kok. A ploy by the Ministry of State Security.

Oriental Daily: Occupy Central campaign continues to rage, paralysing LegCo.

The Sun: 13-year-old elite school girl arrested after hacking into government computer network for Occupy Central

Singtao: CY Leung hints at enforcing laws with iron fist as he urges students to leave Mong Kok

6.30am: Here's a summary of what happened in the night to Tuesday:

* Federation of Students leaders met with constitutional affairs undersecretary Lau Kong-wah at the University of Hong Kong to discuss preparations for a dialogue with Carrie Lam.

Both sides agreed the talks should be held “this week” and that it should not be a one-off dialogue, but they are still at odds on the venue and format.

* Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has released a report on the economic impact of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.

It said that, barring any "unexpected escalation", the protests would have few long-term economic effects.

* It was a mostly peaceful evening at the protests camps, punctuated by some minor confrontations.

A local news crew was forced to stop its reporting on Harcourt Road in Admiralty when protesters started loudly jeering over what they perceived as the network’s conservative coverage of Occupy.

And in the wee hours, a drunk man showed up near the government HQ to lecture protesters on why they should leave and why they should be grateful to Beijing.

 

[Ridgewalkers]

Re: Give me Liberty or Give me Death! Giordano Tycoon joins Occupy Central!


Agreement on talks with students near as Occupy Central protests dwindle

Students and government officials hope to start dialogue this week, after civil servants return to work in Admiralty and schools reopen

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 4:02am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 4:35am

Staff Reporters

Staff at the government headquarters enjoy a calm arrival at work yesterday. Photo: May Tse

Students and government officials have reached a consensus to start a dialogue on political reform as soon as this week as the city edged towards some sort of normality eight days after Occupy Central protests began.

But the students also reiterated that they would not end their protests in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok unless a substantive breakthrough was made.

Speaking after an hour-long meeting last night, the Federation of Students' deputy leader, Lester Shum, said he had agreed with Lau Kong-wah, undersecretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, that there would be multiple rounds of talks and they would be based on an equal relationship and mutual respect.

"We agreed that the meeting should [start] this week," Shum said. "We want it to be a substantive dialogue, not just a casual chat or a consultative session."

Agreement has yet to be reached on the venue for the federations' meeting with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and other top officials, with the students wanting it to be held at a university, preferably the University of Hong Kong.

The clashes on Friday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Briefing the press separately, Lau said the national legislature's framework for the 2017 chief executive poll - which sparked the protests in the first place - should be followed if Hong Kong wanted to reform its electoral system in a legal manner.

But Shum later suggested that Lau's insistence on the framework might be an "obstacle" that would make a constructive dialogue difficult.

The demonstrations were triggered by Beijing's decision to restrict the city's electoral reform. Thousands more joined in when police used tear gas on the crowds in Admiralty on September 29.

Tensions eased considerably yesterday after protesters agreed to allow access to the government headquarters in Admiralty. Thousands of civil servants returned to work. Some protesters handed flowers and soup to civil servants in a show of goodwill.

"I hope both sides show more mutual understanding towards each other," said Teresa Poon, a middle-aged housewife who prepared the hot soup.

All 51 primary schools in the Wan Chai and Central and Western districts will reopen today - another sign that the city is gradually recovering from the impact of the unprecedented civil disobedience movement. Secondary schools there reopened yesterday.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying again called for an end to the protests. "We are sincere in having dialogue on constitutional development," he said in a videotaped address.

The protests have caught worldwide attention. While most Western governments sympathised with the movement, they also believed it would not sway Beijing.

Charles Powell, who served as private secretary to then British prime minister Margaret Thatcher when the UK negotiated Hong Kong's return to China during the 1980s, told the BBC he did not believe the protests would make a difference.

"The position about elections has been clear since the [Basic Law] was published in 1991 and I don't believe for one moment that [Beijing is] going to change that basic position," Powell said.

The size of the protests in Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay dropped noticeably as exhaustion set in and people returned to work.

Lee Kwok-chung, senior traffic police superintendent, said around 2.9km of roads in the city were still occupied by protesters, down from 5km last week at the peak of the movement.

While the protest sites are still barricaded off, in Causeway Bay only a few dozen stragglers were manning them during the day.

Order also seemed to have returned to Mong Kok after days of sometimes violent confrontations between protesters and people opposing their action.

Director of Administration Kitty Choi Kit-yu said no further action would be taken to clear entrances to the government headquarters blocked by protesters and negotiations would continue with those who were still there.

Leung - whose resignation is being demanded by the protesters - stressed that police would be even-handed in dealing with protesters and people who come out to oppose them.

Commenting specifically on Mong Kok, Leung said police would be impartial in enforcing the law against anyone who resorts to violence, regardless of their political views.

The impact on the economy also eased. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 1.09 per cent, or 250.48 points, to finish at 23,315.04 yesterday. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chief Charles Li Xiaojia said he was glad to see calm returning to the streets. "Protesters have achieved their goal and made their voices heard," he said.

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