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Thousands return to streets in protest at government's decision to cancel talks with students
Massive show of support for protesters follows government decision to cancel talks – and comes as city’s leaders leave for Guangzhou forum
Thousands returned to Admiralty last night. Photo: Edward Wong
Protest crowds in Admiralty swelled into the thousands last night and student leaders called for a "long-term Occupy" as Hong Kong's top leaders prepared to leave the city for a regional forum in Guangzhou.
Supporters of the Occupy movement returned to the streets in a massive show of support after the government scrapped a promised dialogue with students. The crowds at the main rally site in Admiralty swelled to tens of thousands, organisers said. A police estimate was not immediately available.
Student group Scholarism - one of the organisers - called on supporters to occupy "every inch of the streets".
Tensions flared after the government on Thursday scrapped a meeting with student leaders scheduled to take place yesterday. Both sides accused the other of lacking sincerity.
Piano teacher Kit Lau said she came out because she was upset by the government's abrupt cancellation of the meeting. Another teacher, Gray Chow, said: "People are even more disillusioned with the government now."
On the mainland, a People's Daily commentary questioned why student leaders had returned to their demand for Beijing to retract the framework it set out for electoral reform.
"We cannot help but wonder whether some people with an ulterior motive are behind this. It sabotaged a good chance to end the turmoil … But people who play with fire will eventually get burned," it said.
Premier Li Keqiang , in Germany to meet Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, said he was confident that "social stability" could be preserved in Hong Kong and stressed that Beijing would not change its "one country, two systems" approach to the city.
Merkel hoped the demonstrations remained peaceful.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and three ministers head to Guangzhou today to attend a regional integration forum. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying will attend tomorrow. While Lam will return tomorrow, Leung and the other ministers are scheduled to be out of town until Monday afternoon - leaving an understrength government at a time of crisis.
Some pan-democrats tried to reopen dialogue with the government but were told students must soften their stance. A pan-democrat source said they understood it was not Lam's decision to cancel the talks.
A government source expected the Occupy protests to drag on for another two weeks.
The impasse could prove costly all round, with both sides facing increased criticism for their handling of the protests.
Basic Law Institute chairman Alan Hoo SC slammed the government for lacking the courage to solve the stand-off. He said the government should inform Beijing that it would withdraw its application for reform if the public strongly opposed the proposal.
"I don't see the Hong Kong government has the courage to do that," Hoo said.
Several pro-establishment lawmakers went to Government House last night to meet Leung and Lam. Tam Yiu-chung, leading of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said they urged Leung to find a solution to end the deadlock with students, but "we did not say the time is ripe to clear the protest area".
He said Leung agreed with their ideas, without giving details.
Occupy Mong Kok on Sunday morning. Photo: Ernest Kao
Good morning and welcome to our ongoing live coverage of Hong Kong's Occupy movement.
Thousands of people continued to occupy areas of Admiralty and Mong Kok in the night to Sunday as demonstrations for genuine democracy in Hong Kong enter their 15th day.
A stand-off in Mong Kok between plainclothes policemen and protesters led to several arrests in the early hours of Sunday. The scene in Admiralty was peaceful as protesters spent the night in hundreds of tents on occupied streets.
With the city's top leaders away from Hong Kong until Monday, student leaders issued an open letter to President Xi Jinping in which they stressed that the Occupy movement is not a "colour revolution",
Meanwhile a prominent student spokeswoman, Agnes Chow Ting, announced she would be stepping back from the spotlight, saying she was exhausted by the pro-democracy movement.
11.55am: Our reporters' estimates of crowd sizes at protest areas:
Admiralty: 300 - 400
Mong Kok: 60 - 80
Causeway Bay: 50
11.29am: About 80 protesters remain at the main area of Occupy Mongkok on Sunday morning, most taking shelter under tents from the scorching sun. Curious passersby and families on their day off walk through the protest zones taking photos.
"I think it's pretty brave what the students are doing and I took my own kids ages eight and 11 here to see what is going on," said business owner Sam Kwok, who has not taken part in any of the protests. "It hasn't affected us greatly other than minor inconvenience in traffic - we live in Sha Tin - but I support what they are doing for the future of this society."
Occupy Mong Kok on Sunday morning. Photo: Ernest Kao
11.17am: About 30 members of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union went to the rallying scene in Admiralty to ask the protesting students to clear roads for traffic.
Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union workers take to the streets in Admiralty. Photo: Shirley Zhao
Union chairman Chow Luen-kiu said about 3,000 construction workers had to take longer journeys to work due to traffic blockades. He added that over 1,000 workers working at construction sites within the protesting areas had not been working for days, because trucks delivering steel and cement could not reach construction sites.
"We respect your demands because many of our children are among the protesters," said Chow. "But it's been 15 days. You've done enough and the whole world has known your demands. So please leave and let your parents resume work so they can raise you."
Chow denied accusations by some Occupy protesters that the union workers had been being paid to stage the counter-protest.
10.56am: The international hacker group Anonymous said it had targeted several Chinese government websites, claiming to fulfil its pledge to fight for democracy in Hong Kong.
So far, the website of the Ningbo Free Trade Zone and a job search website run by a county in Zhejiang province appear to have been hacked. The group released lists of emails which originated from those websites.
10.36am: Protesters react with defiance to the chief executive's statements earlier on Sunday, in which he suggested that protests would end soon and that they had "zero chance" of changing Beijing's mind on allowing a free election of his successor in 2017.
While writing pro-democracy messages in his tent in Admiralty, Kelvin Lui, a 56 year-old worker at a construction company, says he doesn't care about what Leung said.
"The fight will continue no matter what he said," said Lui. "I believe many people will keep fighting until our demands are realised."
He said he had asked for a two-day leave from his job to join the Occupy rally. He said he would keep coming back after work hours next week. .
Occupy Mong Kok on Sunday morning. Photo: Emily Tsang
9.31am: Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying says the Occupy movement is a "mass movement that has spun out of control" in an interview broadcast on TVB. He says the movement should not be regarded as a revolution. Our full story will follow soon.
Occupy Admiralty on Sunday morning. Photo: Shirley Zhao
8.40am: An open letter released on Saturday by student leaders to President Xi Jinping is meant to suggest to the head of state that the Occupy movement in Hong Kong is not a "rebellion" against Beijing's sovereignty, Lester Shum from the Hong Kong Federation of Students said in a radio interview this morning.
"We would like to point out that Hongkongers' pursuit for democracy has no conflict with the 'Chinese Dream'," said Lester Shum of the student activist group, referring to Xi's political ideal which stresses on building a harmonious and prosperous nation.
"We've seen that Zhou Yongkang had to step down over corruption allegations, then why is a corrupt official like CY Leung still in power?" Shum asked, referring to the latest scandal over the HK$50 million deal signed between him and an Australian firm after he agreed to an acquisition of a property services firm of which he was then its chairman for the Asia Pacific region.
The letter should help Beijing understanding better the views of Hongkongers, he said, as the Hong Kong government had failed to reflect such views in its report to Beijing after completing a public consultation on political reform earlier this year.
8.35am: The Post's front-page on Sunday:
8am: Excerpts of the Post's coverage of the Occupy movement on Sunday:
Carrie Lam 'helpless' over talks deadlock
Hong Kong government No 2 Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has expressed "disappointment and helplessness" over the collapse of talks with students, as unprecedented democracy protests which have rocked the city entered their third week.
Never retreat, a Mong Kok state of mind
No one was giving orders and communication was sporadic at best - but within hours of protesters being tear gassed beneath the shimmering towers of Admiralty two weeks ago a new front had opened in the fight for universal suffrage in an altogether different place.
Students the stars of the pro-democracy protest story so far
"Class boycotts may last for only a week, but there could be more strikes in the future," Chow told the crowd.
Occupy protests bring acceptance for ethnic minority youngsters
Amid applause and cries of encouragement from Chinese locals, various nationalities joined forces to march in the streets with homemade banners, exercising their rights.
Occupy Central movement protesters sleep in tents in Admiralty in the ealy hours of Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Angry confrontations and a heavy police presence in Mong Kok on Sunday. Photo: Peter So
