Talks offered; Hong Kong activists leery

HONG KONG — Dozens of Hong Kong police arrived at a pro-democracy protest zone today to remove barricades in a dawn raid.

Officers in riot helmets and carrying shields descended on the district of Mong Kok to take down some of the tents and canopies there. Police said they were not trying to forcibly remove the protesters from the site, which is an offshoot protest zone across Victoria Harbor from the main occupied area in the city’s financial district.

Police surrounded about 30 protesters, who did not put up resistance. Officers used loudspeakers to tell protesters to leave the site, and there were no clashes between the two sides.

The protesters have taken over major roads and streets in the city center since Sept. 26 to press for a greater say in choosing Hong Kong’s leader. Chief Executive Leung Chunying tried to soothe tensions with the student-led protesters Thursday by reviving an offer of talks.

Leung said the government is ready to meet with student leaders as soon as next week, but urged them to be pragmatic, reiterating that Beijing will not change its mind on election restrictions. That raised doubts that the proposed meeting can overcome the vast differences between the two sides.

Protesters oppose the Chinese central government’s ruling that a committee stacked with pro-Beijing elites should screen candidates in the territory’s first direct election. That effectively means that Beijing can vet candidates before they go to a public vote.

Alex Chow of the Hong Kong Federation of Students welcomed Leung’s offer Wednesday but criticized the government for setting preconditions. Many other demonstrators who were gathered in the main protest zone echoed his view.

“I paid attention to what [Leung] said, but I couldn’t find anything constructive. He didn’t say anything new, and I don’t think it is going to break this deadlock,” said Tong Wing-ho, 26.

Tensions between the authorities and the protesters have escalated in the past few days as riot police armed with pepper spray and batons moved to retake some occupied streets.

Many residents were angered by a video Wednesday of police officers kicking a protester whose hands were cuffed behind his back. The seven officers, who have been suspended, were among hundreds battling with activists for two nights in a row over control of a busy road next to city government headquarters and near the protesters’ main occupation zone.

“As long as students or other sectors in Hong Kong are prepared to focus on this issue, yes we are ready, we are prepared to start the dialogue,” Leung said Thursday, adding that middlemen, whom he did not identify, had been in touch with protest leaders to convey the government’s wishes.