Pedestrians and demonstrators walk past tents outside the Central Government Offices in... Read More
Student leaders made “unrealistic” demands in the first round of talks last month, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam told reporters today. There’s no need for protest leaders to seek direct talks with Chinese officials in Beijing, she said.
Lam’s comments indicate a firmer stance by the government after a court yesterday upheld injunctions against some protest sites, potentially setting the stage for renewed efforts to forcibly clear the streets. Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters are facing increased pressure to
end demonstrations now in their seventh week, amid signs of dissent within their ranks and a poll suggesting waning public support.
“Student leaders didn’t show sincerity after the first talks and they hardened their stance,” Lam said. “I think there’s no room for negotiation for the time being.”
The city’s High Court yesterday ruled that bailiffs are allowed to take measures to remove obstructions in parts of Mong Kok and outside Citic Tower in the Admiralty district. The police were directed to assist the bailiffs and to arrest anybody who interferes with the removal of the barricades.
The police may be prepared to act as soon as Nov. 13, Radio Television Hong Kong reported today, citing unidentified people. Officers have been asked to cancel holidays, RTHK said.
Vetting Candidates
The demonstrations were sparked by China’s decision to control the nomination process for the city’s first leadership election in 2017, with protesters demanding the government in Beijing reverse its decision to vet candidates for the post. Lam and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying have repeatedly said the students’ demands for freely choosing candidates would violate the city’s de-facto constitution.Tung Chee-hwa, who was chief executive of Hong Kong from 1997 to 2005, said yesterday the government won’t tolerate the demonstrations for long. A poll commissioned by Ming Pao newspaper released yesterday showed 70 percent of the respondents wanted the street occupation to end.
Leung’s Popularity
While support for the protesters dipped, Leung’s popularity has improved. The support rating for him rose to 40.4 marks from a record low, in a survey conducted between Oct. 31 and Nov. 5 by the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Programme.The police in October successfully cleared some make-shift barricades in the city’s central business district, while attempts to remove them in Mong Kok, a popular shopping area, have failed. Protesters continue to occupy a main roadway on the edge of Central, causing daily traffic disruptions in one of Asia’s biggest financial centers.
Two applications for injunctions were filed by an association of taxi drivers and a minibus company in the Mong Kok district. A third was filed by a property company controlled by Citic Ltd. (267) at the main protest site in Admiralty.
The justice secretary may start criminal contempt procedures against people who attempt to interfere with bailiffs enforcing the injunctions, the Department of Justice said yesterday.
Protest leaders have struggled to make headway with their demands. Attempts to reach out to politicians to help arrange meetings with Chinese officials have so far failed, while proposals for pro-democracy lawmakers to resign en masse to trigger by-elections that could serve as a de-facto referendum on the election issue have been rejected.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students yesterday sent an open letter to Rita Fan, a Hong Kong deputy to China’s National People’s Congress, asking her to arrange a meeting with Chinese officials in Hong Kong or Beijing.
“There’s no need for student leaders to go to Beijing if they only want to repeat their stance,” Lam said today. “If they have new thoughts, new ideas about political reforms, I welcome them to raise them to our dedicated team.”
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