Hong Kong students and government agree to formal talks
Hong Kong’s government and the pro-democracy movement agree to negotiate as exhaustion sets in
Ordinary protesters acknowledge that exhaustion is setting in and there are limits to the tolerance of Hong Kong’s people for the disruption caused by the rallies Photo: REUTERS
By David Blair, Hong Kong
7:21AM BST 07 Oct 2014
Hong Kong’s government and the pro-democracy movement agreed to negotiate on Tuesday as both sides pulled back from confrontation.
Hundreds of activists have spent an eighth night sleeping on canvas sheets laid on Connaught and Queensway roads, the two main arteries serving Hong Kong Island. But their numbers have dwindled and the turnout for nightly protest rallies has fallen sharply.
Lau Kong-wah, the Under-Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, met protest leaders to agree formal talks with the government.
The fact that the authorities are prepared to negotiate represents a significant climb-down. They had earlier insisted that protesters must first remove all barricades from main roads.
Instead, the demonstrators chose to lift their blockade on the Central Government Offices in the Admiralty area and allow 3,000 civil servants to go to work. That appears to have been enough for the authorities to agree to talk, although the timing of any meeting remains unclear.
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Graphic: locations of the Hong Kong Protests
The protesters want the resignation of C.Y. Leung, the chief executive of Hong Kong. Above all, they want guarantees that Hong Kong will have a free and unfettered election for the position of chief executive in 2017. Whether the gap between the two sides can be bridged by negotiation remains to be seen.
Alex Chow, a protest leader, said the talks would be called off it the government tried to clear the demonstrators by force. The action would end “when – and only when – the government promises something, otherwise it is impossible to persuade the people to quit,” he said.
Ordinary protesters acknowledge that exhaustion is setting in and there are limits to the tolerance of Hong Kong’s people for the disruption caused by the rallies. About two miles of road are still blocked, paralysing movement in large areas of the city.
But Cheryl Au, a 20-year-old demonstrator, said it was essential to make a stand for full democracy. “If we don’t stand up now, we might not have another chance,” she said.
Beijing has insisted that Hong Kong’s people will only be able to choose between officially approved candidates when they vote for a new chief executive in 2017.
“The central government has been strong in imposing this policy,” added Miss Au. “If the people of Hong Kong don’t come out, they will think this has no price. So if we don’t stand up today, there’ll be no more chances.”
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“The central government has been strong in imposing this policy,” added Miss Au. “If the people of Hong Kong don’t come out, they will think this has no price. So if we don’t stand up today, there’ll be no more chances.”
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