Hong Kong Protests: Chief Executive Maintains Hard Line
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying Hopes Dialogue Will Begin as Early as Next Week
Photo: Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying maintains his hard line on protests, which have paralyzed traffic on some roads for nearly three weeks. Reuters
By Enda Curran, Isabella Steger and Jeffrey Ng
Updated Oct. 16, 2014 7:06 a.m. ET
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HONG KONG—After nearly three weeks of pro-democracy protests, including violent confrontations with police, the two sides in this city’s standoff haven’t talked directly and haven’t budged on their demands.
But with the first negotiations to begin next week, there were signs of possible compromise emerging behind the scenes, even as both sides maintained their hard line publicly.
Thursday marked a relatively quiet day on the streets, with one minor overnight skirmish and no efforts by police to clear more blockades.
Police said they had suspended seven officers allegedly involved in the videotaped beating of a protester early Wednesday. The video was seen around the world and was a setback for the image of the city and the police force.
VIDEO: Hong Kong police pepper sprayed pro-democracy protesters in the early hours of Thursday after a group of them tried to cut off one of the city’s main roads.
The pro-democracy protesters’ main demand is public nomination of candidates for Hong Kong’s chief executive, the city’s top post. Beijing declared on Aug. 31 that the nomination of candidates has to be approved by a committee that historically has been loyal to Beijing. The students want that position reversed.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said at a news conference that the students’ wish for the decision to be revoked is impossible, and urged them to adopt a “pragmatic” position.
He also said that police could move to clear protest sites even while talks were going on. “This is very important: Dialogue and clearing the protests are two separate things. We won’t refrain from clearing the sites because of dialogue, nor will we refrain from dialogue because of [plans] to clear the sites.”
Past efforts by police to clear the protests, however, have brought out bigger crowds and broadened the support for the students. Early in the protest Beijing sent a message to Hong Kong’s government to not use excessive force, after the use of tear gas on protesters resulted in more districts being blockaded.
Despite the rhetoric from Hong Kong officials, however, a final decision on how to proceed with Hong Kong hasn’t been made, according to one person familiar with the matter.
Standoff in Hong Kong
Scuffles broke out between protesters and police early Thursday in Hong Kong.
Tents stretch out across a protest site near government headquarters in Admiralty, Hong Kong Oct. 16, 2014. Tyrone Siu/Reuters
One turning point could be an important policy meeting that starts next week—the Fourth Plenum—which is likely to focus on President Xi Jinping ’s anticorruption campaign. The week is likely to be consumed by the case against former security chief Zhou Yongkang , the first time corruption charges have been laid against a ranking or retired member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
“If [Xi] can settle that matter he will have time and room to decide how Hong Kong will proceed,” said one person familiar with the talks between Beijing and Hong Kong.
One area of possible compromise is looking ahead to the 2022 chief executive election. Raymond Tam, the director of the chief executive’s office, said at the news conference Thursday that students should keep their eye on the 2022 elections instead, as 2017 is just “the beginning of a new chapter,” said Mr. Tam.
The government said it has appointed intermediaries to broker discussions. One is said to be Joseph J.Y. Sung, president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, according to two people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for the university declined to comment.
The government’s efforts have been led by Carrie Lam, the city’s No. 2 official. An earlier plan for talks ended in acrimony on Oct. 9 after Ms. Lam accused students of changing their demands and described their call for Beijing to change its decision as a breach of the Basic Law.
Alex Chow, leader of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, has already announced plans for further disruptive tactics against the government. Pro-democracy lawmakers have vowed that they would block key bills in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on funding, for example.
“Frankly speaking I cannot see any proposal that would be feasible unless Beijing is going to change its mind,” Albert Ho, a pro-democracy lawmaker, said in an interview.
Both the police and government are hoping that public support for the protesters wanes, allowing the streets to be reopened. But any new slip up could reverse that, said Steve Vickers, a former senior officer in the Royal Hong Kong police force and now chief executive of the specialist political and corporate risk consultancy Steve Vickers & Associates Ltd.
“Further mistakes by the government and police may exacerbate the situation,” Mr. Vickers said.
Meanwhile, lawmaker Yiu Si-wing, a member of the Legislative Council who represents the tourism industry, said Hong Kong’s hospitality industry could face its worst hit in a decade, as the demonstrations have prompted some cancellations of hotel bookings.
Mr. Yiu said October and November are typically the peak season for hotels, as many business travelers arrive for trade fairs and exhibitions. Occupancy rates at many high-end hotels could reach more than 90%, but “this year some business travelers have decided to cut short their trips or even cancel them due to safety concerns,” he said. The average occupancy rate is around 70% to 80% this month, he said.
“Many hotel operators are beginning to adjust down their rates in a bid to fill up more rooms. If the massive protests remain unresolved next month, occupancy rates could fall to 50%—the lowest in a decade,” he said.
Mr. Yiu also said that since more than 90% of Hong Kong’s 1,700 travel agencies are small enterprises, continuous weakness in demand could lead some of them to shut down.
—Chester Yung and Joanne Chiu contributed to this article.
Write to Enda Curran at enda.curran@wsj.com, Isabella Steger at isabella.steger@wsj.com and Jeffrey Ng at jeffrey.ng@wsj.com
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