Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Movements Back To Square One As Govt. Cancels Talk
The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, it seems, is back to square one as the Hong Kong Government has called off talks with student leaders who, in turn, want to continue with their movement by occupying some key thoroughfares and districts.
By Sadho Ram — 10 Oct 2014, 12:39 PM — Updated almost 10 years ago
Friday, 10 October, was the day planned for official talk between the pro-democracy student leaders and Hong Kong Government. But now the Government has cancelled on the planned talk, saying it would be "impossible to have a constructive dialogue".
"We cannot accept the linking of illegal activities to whether or not to talk": Hong Kong's number two official Carrie Lam announces the talks are off.
Image via theage.com.auThe government in Hong Kong has backed out of talks with leaders of the pro-democracy protests, saying that it would not meet with them after they had called on their supporters to come back to the streets to keep up pressure on the authorities. That was an unacceptable threat, Hong Kong's number two official Carrie Lam said.
"Students' call for an expansion of an uncooperative movement has shaken the trust of the basis of our talks and it will be impossible to have a constructive dialogue," Chief Secretary Carrie Lam said on the eve of the planned dialogue.
reuters.com
She blamed the pull-out on students' unswerving demands for universal suffrage, which she said was not in accordance with the Asian financial centre's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, what she described as their illegal occupation of parts of the city and fresh calls for people to rally.
reuters.com
"The dialogue cannot be deployed as an excuse to incite more people to join the protest," said Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, according to the BBC. "The illegal occupation activists must stop."
csmonitor.com
In response, pro-democracy student leaders immediately responded by redoubling their calls for supporters to return to the streets on Friday evening to put fresh pressure on the Government
Local residents walk by an area blocked by pro-democracy protesters at the commercial area of Causeway Bay in Hong Kong October 9, 2014.
Image via imgur.comHong Kong protesters are planning a fresh show of force Friday evening after talks with the government dramatically collapsed and U.S. lawmakers urged President Barack Obama to press concerns about the city's democracy fight with Beijing.
"When university students are willing to sacrifice their lives for democracy and fight against the ruling powers, you must realise how sick and oppressive the government must be to force students to make this decision," Alex Chow, leader of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said after the government called off talks.
reuters.com
The protesters are demanding a fully free vote in elections due to be held in 2017 for the post of Hong Kong's leader. But China said that, under Hong Kong law, voters will be able to vote freely but from a list approved by a nominating committee.
The government has so far refused to change course, claiming that the proposal violates Hong Kong law and the guidelines for the election set by China in August.
csmonitor.com
"I am afraid that is making people's daily lives into a bargaining chip for the meeting," Ms Lam said at a press conference. "We cannot accept the linking of illegal activities to whether or not to talk." She also said the government side is not prepared to discuss the protesters' basic demand for democracy.
That may be the biggest sticking point - her insistence that students not contest the Chinese Communist Party's ruling in August setting out its interpretation of Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and detailing the rules that would govern the election of the territory's next chief executive in 2017. Those rules effectively gave Beijing and its loyalists in Hong Kong the power to choose who can be a candidate in those elections.
Protesters want to open up the nominating process and are also demanding the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. "We have stated again and again that political reform has to be under the Basic Law framework and the recent explanation made by the National People's Congress Standing Committee," Ms Lam said.
While Hong Kong's number two official Carrie Lam said pro-democracy protest leaders had failed to listen to "rational voices," student leaders accused the Government of backing out of the talks because it felt the pressure was lessening
Secondary school students do their homework at a protest site, as protesters occupy a main road at Causeway Bay shopping district, in Hong Kong on Oct 8, 2014
Image via straitstimes.com"I feel like the government is saying that if there are fewer people on the streets, they can cancel the meeting," said Alex Chow, head of the Hong Kong Federation of Students. "Students urge people who took part in the civil disobedience to go out on the streets again to occupy."
Chow accused the government of having been insincere about the dialogue all along. "We are not asking the government to respond to us by solving all the problems at once," he said. "They could give some instructions or administrative work to give a blueprint of how all the constitutional reform problems could be settled, but right up to this moment the government has still not given us a concrete proposal to solve the problem."
It remains uncertain whether the wide gulf separating the student protesters and the Government can be overcome, but many students are holding out hope for the possibility of change
A protester holds an umbrella during a performance on a main road in the occupied areas outside government headquarters in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Image via csmonitor.com"During those days we gave our sweat and our blood, we faced tear gas and some of us were arrested and we may face imprisonment in the future," Alex Chow of the Hong Kong Federation of Students told the AP. "Even now, we are open to talks with the government anytime. They've shown they have no sincerity to shoulder their responsibility of facing the concerns of the Hong Kong people."
csmonitor.com
This tweet posted on the HKFS Twitter account on Thursday night said: "Govt refuses to talk. Let's show them what we've got."
Govt refuses to talk. Let's show them what we've got. Credits to SocREC #occupyhk #umbrellamovement pic.twitter.com/9QKKb1sxrs
— 學聯 HKFS (@HKFS1958) October 9, 2014
Meanwhile, Sebastian Veg, Director of the French Center for Research on Contemporary China, called the Government's decision "terribly irresponsible," while also saying that the students need to devise a new strategy
The protests have caused major disruption but most people are able to get to work despite the shutdown
Image via bbcimg.co.ukGiven the frustration in some quarters with the disruptions to daily life the protests have caused - perhaps retreating to their campuses for a period and setting an ultimatum for the government to offer some meaningful proposals.
"This would highlight the moral bankruptcy of this embattled government and preserve the students' moral high ground," he said. "When the government acts like children, the students are called upon to act like the only adults in the room - as they have done so far."