Hong Kong democracy protesters threaten to step up activities

Wearing yellow ribbons, carrying umbrellas and sporting goggles against tear gas, tens of thousands of democracy demonstrators maintained their lockdown of central Hong Kong yesterday, stockpiling supplies and putting up barriers to fight off efforts to move them before today’s Chinese National Day holiday.

After a weekend in which riot police fired tear gas at protesters and shot pepper spray, the police had taken a much more subdued role by yesterday, and the occupation was mostly focused around the area that is home to the government’s headquarters.

The number of protesters appear to be increasing ahead of the holiday. Police were still in evidence on the streets, but there were no riot cops, and traffic has not returned to normal.

A thunderstorm yesterday evening brought out the umbrellas that have become a symbol of the protests, as protection against tear gas and the rain, although as one sign said: “We don’t need umbrellas, we need democracy.”

The protesters are gathered in four of Hong Kong’s busiest areas, including Admiralty, the central business district, the Causeway Bay shopping precinct and Mong Kok in Kowloon.

Political challenge The protests are the worst in Hong Kong since Britain handed back the former

colony to China in 1997, and are the most significant political challenge to the Chinese government since it crushed pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

On the streets, protesters have set up supply centres, stalls with water bottles, fruit, biscuits, disposable raincoats, towels, goggles, face masks and tents, a sign that they are preparing for a longer campaign.

The area is awash with rumours, including speculation that the police are getting ready to move in again to clear them out before the National Day celebrations, but organisers are urging protesters to stand firm.

“We hope all the people can hold the three main occupation points; Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. We will call these places Democracy Square,” said Chan Kin-man, a co-founder of the Occupy Central protest movement.

In Mong Kok, six abandoned double-decker buses were turned into makeshift billboards, with notes saying “Don’t Give Up” and “CY Leung should resign”, a reference to the territory’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying.

The mostly student demonstrators, protesting against the Beijing government’s decision ruling out an open election of the chief executive in the territory in 2017, ignored calls by Mr Leung to step down.

He said the movement, orchestrated by students and Occupy Central, had got “out of control”.

“Occupy Central founders had said repeatedly that if the movement is getting out of control they would call for it to stop. I’m now asking them to fulfil the promise they made to society and stop this campaign immediately,” Mr Leung said.

Poll Under the terms of the handover

after 150 years of British rule, Hong Kong was supposed to allow its citizens to pick its top official in the poll in three years’ time.

However, earlier this month China said it would limit nominations for elections for chief executive in 2017 to a handful of candidates vetted by Beijing.

The protesters on the streets remained defiant.

“If Leung Chun-ying announces his resignation this occupation will be at least temporarily stopped in a short period of time and we will decide on the next move,” said Occupy Central co-founder Chan Kin-man.

“The Chinese released the white paper on Hong Kong and we think it’s not reasonable. So here we are,” said Marco Tang, a physics student.

Today is the anniversary of the Communist Party’s foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and protesters were gathering near where National Day festivities were scheduled to take place.

Student leaders gave Mr Leung an ultimatum to address the protesters before midnight last night, and have threatened to step up their action in the next few days to occupy more government facilities, buildings and public roads if he fails to do so.

The Communist Party in Beijing is worried that calls for democracy could spread to the mainland, and have been aggressively censoring news and social media comments about the Hong Kong demonstrations. There are rumours that the internet could be censored in Hong Kong too, but there is no evidence of this taking place.