21 October 2014 Last updated at 10:39
Hong Kong officials meet student protesters for talks
Protesters still remain on the streets in Mong Kok and other parts of Hong Kong
Hong Kong government officials and student leaders have begun talks to try to resolve the political impasse that sparked pro-democracy street protests, now in their fourth week.
Students at the talks want the public to have an unrestricted choice of candidates in the election for the territory's chief executive in 2017.
But both Hong Kong and Beijing officials have said this is impossible.
Protests have blocked key parts of the city, although numbers have fallen.
The BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong says that although demonstrators know the chances of getting what they want are almost zero, they are staying on the streets to show authorities that the struggle for democratic reform is a long-term fight.
'Numbers game'
The government team is being led by the city's most senior civil servant, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, and the students are represented by five leaders.
Meetings have been called off twice in recent weeks.
The talks, which began at 18:00 local time (11:00 BST), will focus on the students' demands that China reconsiders its ruling on how candidates for elections will be chosen.
The meeting comes a day after Chief Executive CY Leung reiterated his objections to the demands, saying they would result in populist policies.
"If it's entirely a numbers game and numeric representation, then obviously you would be talking to half of the people in Hong Kong who earn less than $1,800 (£1,110) a month," he told reporters.
"Then you would end up with that kind of politics and policies."
Mr Leung said problems such as the lack of social mobility and unaffordable housing were "not acceptable", and the government needed to do more to solve them.
But he argued that Beijing's position, under which candidates will be screened by a "broadly representative" nominating committee before they go to an open election, was better.
He pointed to the fact that his own appointment in 2012 had to be endorsed by a 1,200-member committee which was made up of people from various sectors of society and professions.
Mr Leung said the make-up of the nomination committee might offer room for negotiation. "There could be a compromise, somewhere in between, by making the nomination committee more acceptable to these students," he said.
Student demonstrators have set up study areas, with fluorescent lighting, at the Admiralty protest site
Hong Kong democracy timeline
* 1984: Britain and China sign an agreement where Hong Kong is guaranteed "a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs" for 50 years following the handover in 1997.
* June-July 2014: Pro-democracy activists hold an unofficial referendum on political reform and a large rally. This is followed by protests by pro-Beijing activists.
* 31 August 2014: China says it will allow direct elections in 2017, but voters will only be able to choose from a list of pre-approved candidates. Activists stage protests.
* 22 September 2014: Student groups launch a week-long boycott of classes in protest.
* 28 September 2014: Occupy Central and student protests join forces and take over central Hong Kong
* 2 October 2014: Chief Executive CY Leung refuses demands for his resignation, offers talks with government. Student leaders later accept the offer.
* 2017: Direct elections for chief executive due to take place
Q&A: Hong Kong's democracy controversy
Grey line The protests drew tens of thousands to the streets at their peak, in a major challenge to Beijing's rule. A few hundred activists still remain entrenched at Mong Kok, Admiralty and Causeway Bay.
On Monday police warned demonstrators to stay away from one of the protest sites, in Mong Kok, saying it was on the verge of "turning into a riot".
Protesters have disputed this and say it is still peaceful.
The High Court also granted an injunction to local business owners ordering protesters in Mong Kok and Admiralty to leave. Authorities have already said several times that the protests are illegal.
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Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
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