Hong Kong student protesters march to chief executive's home
A day after Umbrella Movement protest leaders and Hong Kong city officials met for talks, students try another tactic. Protest sites in the city-state remain in place despite a police crackdown and a court injunction to remove barricades.
A day after Umbrella Movement protest leaders and Hong Kong city officials met for talks, students try another tactic. Protest sites in the city-state remain in place despite a police crackdown and a court injunction to remove barricades.
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Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters marched to the home of Leung Chun-ying,聽Hong Kong鈥檚 Beijing-backed leader on Wednesday after the first talks between the government and student leaders ended in a stalemate.
"I think it is time to seriously consider escalating the movement, such as expanding our occupation to many more places to pressure the government to really face and answer our demands," one student protester, Andy Lau, told Reuters.
The first face-to-face talks between senior Hong Kong politicians and five student leaders demanding a free hand in electing the city's leader were broadcast live.聽Crowds gathered at聽three main demonstration聽sites to watch the debate Tuesday night, in what many in the city hoped would deescalate the movement. Hong Kong has seen more than聽three weeks of protest designed to halt or slow traffic in the central financial district to call attention to the students' demands.
The so-called "Umbrella Movement" pro-democracy protesters want candidates for Hong Kong鈥檚 top leader to be selected in a more democratic fashion as part of what they say was a promise by Beijing in 2007. This summer China's leaders ruled that candidates for the autonomous city-state must be pre-approved in Beijing to ensure they are patriotic.聽
Protesters today vowed to continue their occupation of three sites in Hong Kong鈥檚 city center, despite court injunctions granted this week to taxi and bus drivers ordering protesters to clear the streets.
As some 200 protesters marched to Chief Executive Leung Chun's home on Wednesday,聽taxi drivers began tearing down protest barriers in parts of the city occupied by thousands of demonstrators, The South China Morning Post reports.
"I'm here hoping the government will listen. If they don't listen we will come out again and again to fight for our basic, grassroots nomination right," protester Wing Chan, who took part in the march, told Reuters.
Despite the upheaval in the streets, Tuesday night鈥檚 talks were respectful and relatively calm. Five student leaders 鈥� clad in black t-shirts reading 鈥淔reedom Now鈥� 鈥� sat face to face with five top officials in dark business suits. Even though the meeting didn鈥檛 reap any tangible results, it was historically significant, reports The New York Times.
Many observers point to the generational and class divides highlighted by recent protests. The Associated Press reports that, 鈥渟tudent-led protests are rooted in growing discontent among young people about poor economic prospects amid one of the world鈥檚 biggest wealth gaps.鈥�
These divisions became clear in recent comments by Mr. Leung on reasons why changing election processes were not beneficial for Hong Kong鈥檚 elite, reports 海角大神.