Just as we reported to you few days back about the protest that is on-going in the major city of Hong Kong; well, the event has taken a new another, as demonstrators massed outside his offices on Thursday night, Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive rejected demands that he resign and tried to ease public anger by assigning his deputy to meet with student protesters to discuss their calls for democratic reform.
But the chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, who was anointed by Beijing to lead Hong Kong two years ago, said the talks would have to be in accordance with an earlier ruling by the Chinese leadership limiting the scope of political change here a ruling that has been a target of the mass protests that have shaken this former British colony for nearly a week.
“I will not resign because I have to continue my work on universal suffrage,” Mr. Leung said, referring to a proposal to allow residents of Hong Kong to elect his successor in 2017 from among a limited number of candidates approved by Beijing. He also defended the police’s handling of the protests, which included an attempt to disperse crowds using pepper spray and tear gas that infuriated residents. Faced with a government strategy to wait them out, the protesters, who have taken over key areas of Hong Kong for days, appeared unsure whether they should escalate their confrontation or begin searching for an exit strategy.
“We don’t have a leader,” said Irene Ng, an English major at Hong Kong Baptist University. “This is trying to be a democracy, but then you try to reach a decision and you can’t. Nobody can decide. The ultimate problem is it might split us apart.”
The protesters interviewed gave no indication that a retreat was imminent. But many wondered how long they could sustain the turnout necessary to block crucial roads in the city and just what would constitute an acceptable victory. Tim Lam, an engineer who said he had joined the sit-ins every day since Sunday, said he expected the occupation to last another week at most. “That’s about how long the protesters’ passion can last,” he said. “After one, two weeks of occupation, protesters would start to think about how it affects the economy, the everyday lives of people.”
Further escalation by the protesters could alienate members of the public resentful of a demonstration that affects their daily lives. But without more aggressive steps, the protests could fade. “If we take rash actions, we may lose people’s sympathy,” said Niko Cheng, a recent college graduate and protester in Mong Kok, a densely populated area of Hong Kong on the Kowloon Peninsula. “But if this drags on — it’s already turning into a carnival, with people dancing, singing and all that — people may forget what they’re here for.”
Prominent voices in the pro-democracy campaign have indicated that there is no consensus on what, short of an unlikely reversal of the central government’s position, would lead to an end of the protests. “We have to achieve something that will enable the crowd to claim victory,” said Albert Ho, a lawmaker. “They must retreat with dignity, but that may not necessarily be complete victory. There must be a sense of achievement.” The Chinese Communist Party appeared to rule out any compromise on the protesters’ key demands, publishing a front-page commentary in its official newspaper, People’s Daily, that endorsed Mr. Leung and accused pro-democracy groups of threatening to drag Hong Kong into “chaos.” In a sign of its authority, the piece cited the senior leadership, including President Xi Jinping.
But many in Hong Kong shrugged off the commentary and said they would continue pressing for genuine elections. “All the protesters here and Hong Kong people know it is extremely unlikely the Chinese leaders will respond to our demands,” said Joseph Cheng Yu-shek, a political-science professor at the City University of Hong Kong and a longtime advocate of fuller democracy in the city. “We are here to say we are not going to give up, we will continue to fight on. We are here because as long as we fight on, at least we haven’t lost.”
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