Hong Kong’s Leung offers to hold talks
Chief executive says administration will tolerate demonstrations unless violence occurs
It’s turning out to be a high-stake spoker game. The stakes are rising. WILLY LAM POLITICS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
Protesters repeated their warning: Resign by Thursday midnight, or they would storm the barricades and seize this city’s seat of power, the office of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
Unreasonable? Of course. No one expected capitulation from a man as powerful as Leung. He has an entire city apparatus behind him and more than that, he is backed by China’s central government in Beijing.
But just minutes before midnight, Leung did offer something. Not a concession, but at least a discussion.
“I will not resign,” he told reporters at his official residence, Government House.
He added his chief secretary, Carrie Lam, will be available for formal talks with protest leaders. But he offered no specifics and gave no timeline.
Significantly, Leung added his administration would continue to tolerate the demonstrations. Police would not intervene, unless protesters tried to occupy government buildings or resorted to violence.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students said in a statement early Friday that they planned to join the talks with the government, focused specifically on political reforms, The Associated Press reports. The question now: Will this take the wind out of the protesters sails? Will they lose interest and drift away?
No one predicted the studentled pro-democracy movement would gather the momentum and gain the attention and support it did this week.
The crowds are armed with umbrellas, cellphones, loud voices. But they have been growing in number and their resolve is strong.
They also have won the world’s sympathy, largely because of events Sunday. Police used tear gas and pepper spray on the unarmed protesters.
But the reason for the protests remains unchanged.
Last month, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee said Hong Kong voters would be able to choose Leung’s successor in an election scheduled for 2017. But only from a list of candidates hand-picked by Beijing.
This infuriated residents, especially the territory’s forward-looking youth. They say Beijing has reneged on promises it made when the British returned Hong Kong to China in 1997.
“It’s turning out to be a highstakes poker game. The stakes are rising,” Willy Lam, a politics professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong told AP. “Something will have to give because the pressure keeps mounting on both sides to make a compromise.”
Demonstrators are continuing to practise restraint. They also appear capable of maintaining the blockades on city thoroughfares and commercial streets.
But seizing government buildings is a different matter. Authorities took seriously threats protesters would force their way into the Chief Executive Office (CEO) building on the waterfront.
Thursday afternoon, in sweltering heat, police hauled crowd-dispersal equipment behind barriers erected outside the building
The clock ticked down. A crowd of several dozen gathered outside. By dusk it had swelled to several thousand.
At 9:45 p.m., police released a statement, warning protesters “not to charge against CEO” and cordon lines.
“Police emphasize that that is unlawful behaviour. If they refuse to comply with police advice and warnings, police will take resolute enforcement actions.”
Then came Leung’s statement.
Outside, the crowd absorbed his words.
People milled about, talking things over, waiting for directions from their de facto leaders.
Occupy Central with Love & Peace, one of the main protest players, welcomed the news of a meeting.
But it added: “We reiterate our view that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is the one responsible for the stalemate, and that he must step down. In order to achieve real universal suffrage, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee must withdraw its decision on Hong Kong’s political reform.”
In other words, continued unrest.
The demonstrations will continue Friday.