HONG KONG — Pro-democracy protesters vowed to press ahead with demonstrations unless Hong Kong’s top official steps down, with thousands of people surrounding government offices after violent clashes paralyzed the city centre.
Pro-democracy protesters hold umbrellas and wear protective clothing in front of a police line near the government headquarters in Hong Kong Sept 28. Police fired tear gas as tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators brought parts of central Hong Kong to a standstill Sunday, in a dramatic escalation of protests that have gripped the semi-autonomous Chinese city for days. (Reuters photo)
Protesters dressed in black have gathered in the Admiralty district to demand free elections, while blocking a main road into the central business area. Rallies in the shopping neighbourhoods of Causeway Bay and Mong Kok are picking up after a lull in the morning, leading banks to shut branches and deterring tourists.
Crowds mushroomed yesterday in support of a student-led protest that began Sept 26 to oppose China's plans to control the city's 2017 leadership election. The biggest clashes in Hong Kong for decades, which saw anti-riot police use tear gas and pepper spray on demonstrators, are disrupting businesses in one of Asia's financial centres and risk a strong response from the government in Beijing if they are prolonged.
"I cannot see that the central government is going to back down from its position," said Bo Zhiyue, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore's East Asian Institute. "If they admit they made a mistake in Hong Kong maybe they also made a mistake elsewhere."
Stocks fall
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng stock index fell as much as 2.5%, the biggest decline since February. It was 1.8% lower at 3:02pm The Hong Kong dollar dropped as much as 0.09% to a six-month low of HK$7.7648 versus the greenback, the largest intraday loss since 2011.
"Only when the government makes a substantial response, then we will advise people to retreat," Chan Kin-man, a leader of the Occupy Central with Love and Peace protest group, said in an interview. "They never talk to us directly. We are always ready for dialog and negotiation."
Mr Chan said the protest movement is waiting for the government to respond to demands such as fully-free elections and the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. Opposition lawmakers joined the call for Mr Leung's departure.
The clashes were the city's biggest since unrest in the 1960s led by pro-Communist groups inspired by Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. Demonstrators used face masks, goggles, plastic wrap and umbrellas to protect themselves last night in clashes with the police.
"I'm worried after seeing what the police and government did to our unarmed students," said Danny Wong, 28, a bank worker. "If occupying central for one day, two days or a week would change Hong Kong and bring us back democracy, then why not?"
Riot Police
A protester raises his umbrellas in front of tear gas which was fired by riot police to disperse protesters blocking the main street to the financial Central district outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong Sept 28. Hong Kong police used tear gas for the first time on Sunday to disperse pro-democracy protests and baton-charged the crowd blocking a key road in the government district after Hong Kong and Chinese officials warned against illegal demonstrations. (AFP photo)
The government said today it pulled back the anti-riot police. Officers have tried to minimize injuries and shown self-restraint, the Hong Kong Police Force said in a statement. Police said they arrested 78 people.
The use of force was excessive, the Hong Kong Bar Association said in a faxed statement today. Forty-one people were injured as of 5:45am, the city's hospital authority said.
Roadblocks this morning left roads in the business district deserted as people returned to offices by subway and on foot. Thirty-six bank branches were shut, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said in an e-mailed statement, and some schools in the area were closed.
Chanting Crowds
As the day wore on, more people joined the rallies at Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, calling for the resignation of Mr Leung. Barricades were maintained outside the Sogo department store, with some subway exits shut. Police officers at Wan Chai near the police headquarters were attempting to get protesters to agree to stop blocking Harcourt Road.
"Nobody would know what the police would do if we let them in," said Derek Tsang, 20, a university student. "It's one of the main roads to the government offices. If we let them in, they could send more police in."
The protests have affected one of the world's most vibrant financial centres and a gateway to investment in China. More than half the companies on the Hang Seng Index are from the mainland, driving the city's $3.7 trillion stock market, the fifth-largest worldwide.
Jewellery chains
Hong Kong jewellery chains are shutting stores ahead of the start of "golden week," a week-long holiday in China when hundreds of thousands of people from the mainland travel to Hong Kong. They provide an annual boost to sales of luxury brands such as Prada, Louis Vuitton and Patek Philippe.
Chow Sang Sang Holdings International Ltd, the city's second-largest jewellery chain, closed six outlets. Luk Fook Holdings Ltd's Hong Kong same-store sales will probably slump 20-30% during the holiday, Chairman Wong Wai Sheung said.
The US government urged all parties in Hong Kong to exercise restraint, its consulate general said in a statement.
In televised remarks early this morning, Mr Leung urged protesters to disperse and dismissed rumours police had opened fire or that the government planned to call in the People's Liberation Army, which China used to crush the student-led Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989. The PLA has garrisons in Hong Kong but is rarely seen on the streets.
Peace & order
"Hong Kong's stable development for so long has depended on everyone's abiding by peace and respecting the law," Mr Leung said. "We don't want Hong Kong to be chaotic or for people's daily lives to be affected."
Demonstrators gather near the central government offices in the business district of Admiralty in Hong Kong Monday. Chan Kin-man, a leader of the Occupy Central with Love and Peace protest group, said the protest movement is now waiting for the government to respond to demands such as fully-free elections and the resignation of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, the city’s top official. (Bloomberg photo)
Mr Leung said everyone should back the political reforms, or risk China cancelling the popular election in 2017. The protests were spurred by the decision last month by the government in Beijing that candidates for chief executive be vetted by a committee. Pro-democracy forces say the system is designed to produce a leader effectively handpicked by China.
"We hope Leung can now feel our anger," said Toffy Tung, a student protester at Causeway Bay. "This matters. We want him to step down."
More than 200 transportation workers of Swire Coca-Cola HK Ltd have gone on strike, union spokeswoman Lo Lo said today. The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union yesterday called on its members to strike, while the Hong Kong Federation of Students said a boycott of classes that started Sept 22 will be extended indefinitely.
"Heavy-handed approaches to the students will surely backfire," said Michael Davis, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong. "Hong Kong people have proven time and time again that if the government handles public concerns badly, the public will mobilize against them."
Student leaders
Three student leaders who were arrested at the start of the protests were released yesterday, according to Michael Vidler, the lawyer for 17-year-old Joshua Wong of a group called Scholarism.
Mr Wong, who escalated protests late on Sept 26 when he urged demonstrators to climb the gates of the government headquarters, was ordered released by a judge who ruled his detention was unlawful, Mr Vidler said.
"We want more people to stay in the occupation site so that the government will respond," said Occupy's Mr Chan.