Hong Kong Protesters Rally Anew as Government Quits Talks

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Hong Kong Protesters Rally Anew as Government Quits Talks By Alfred Liu and Fion Li Oct 10, 2014 7:06 PM GMT+0800



Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg’s Adam Johnson reports that student protesters are heeding a call to gather in response to government officials calling off talks. He speaks on “Bloomberg Surveillance.”

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Hong Kong pro-democracy protest leaders called on supporters to flood the city’s streets tonight to pressure the government after talks aimed at ending the two-week standoff were suspended.

Student leader Joshua Wong today urged protesters to gather at 7:30 p.m. near the government’s main office complex in Admiralty to show that demonstrations still have the support to continue their occupation of key city roads. The benchmark stock index and the Hong Kong dollar fell today.

Carrie Lam, the city’s No. 2 official, and student leaders yesterday blamed each other for the collapse of talks, with demonstrators threatening more action and the government warning it may clear the streets. Crowds have dwindled to hundreds of people from about 200,000 at the protest movement’s peak, while the blockade of key roads has raised the ire of truck and cab drivers.

Hong Kong's Autonomy

“We do admit we are causing inconvenience to the people, but this is to have long-term gains through short-term pain,” Alex Chow, the secretary general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said today. “No one will give up now until we get a significant achievement.”

The blockades by students seeking elections free from controls by the Chinese Communist Party have forced the former British colony into its worst political crisis since China regained sovereignty in 1997.
Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg A commuter's shadow is cast on notes hanging on a wall outside the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong, on Oct. 9, 2014. Close

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Open Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg A commuter's shadow is cast on notes hanging on a wall outside the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong, on Oct. 9, 2014.





Stocks Fall

The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 1.9 percent today. The index had its biggest two-day fall since February last week after the police used tear gas on unarmed student demonstrators, spurring thousands to rally in anger.
The Hong Kong dollar fell 0.05 percent to HK$7.7590 per dollar as of 6:35 p.m., the most since Sept. 29, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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“I hope that there will be a way for the protesters to see how they can help us restore our daily life,” Ronald Arculli, the former head of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., the world’s second-largest bourse operator by market value, said in an interview today. “The inconvenience that people suffer in terms of going to and from work and maybe even shorter working hours is just incalculable.”
Angry Drivers

Rush hour traffic-jams have snaked for miles and ridership has surged on the already crowded subway system with 40 percent of the city’s bus routes disrupted by the barricades.
A coalition of truck drivers gave demonstrators a deadline of Oct. 15 to open the roads or they would tear barricades down. Nine truck drivers’ associations, which control 70 percent of the city’s 120,000 trucks, are part of the coalition.
Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg Hong Kong Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow speaks during a news conference outside the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. Close

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Open Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg Hong Kong Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow speaks during a news conference outside the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014.





“I don’t care about the government talks,” Tse Long, chairman of the Hong Kong Guangdong Transportation Association Ltd., said by phone today. “It’s a political problem. If the students want to protest, they could go to Victoria Park. Now you can see what the students are doing is not effective, how much longer can we wait?”
Seeking to bolster their bargaining position ahead of the scheduled talks, student leaders, pro-democracy politicians and the activist group Occupy Central with Love and Peace joined forces yesterday afternoon to call for a “wave of new civil disobedience.”
China’s Call

The rallying call spurred Lam to suspend talks. Lam said the street occupation was illegal and must end. She also said any talks must proceed on the basis of China’s decision to vet candidates for the city’s chief executive election in 2017.

The government scrapped the talks without consulting the protesters, Chow said today. Protest leaders are open to restarting negotiations, and are willing to consider lifting some blockades if they get access to Civic Square, a fenced-up area in front of the government offices, he said.
Photographer: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images Hong Kong's embattled leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, right, and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam hold a press conference at Leung's official residence in Hong Kong on October 2, 2014. Close

Hong Kong's embattled leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, right, and Chief... Read More


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Open Photographer: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images Hong Kong's embattled leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, right, and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam hold a press conference at Leung's official residence in Hong Kong on October 2, 2014.





Talks are unlikely to restart this weekend with senior government officials visiting China.

Lam will visit the southern city of Guangzhou from tomorrow to Oct. 12 for a development and trade forum, the government said in a statement. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying will also be there from Oct. 12 to 13, it said.

Opposition lawmakers said they would filibuster government spending bills and also seek to impeach Leung for misconduct over undeclared payments he received linked to the sale of a property broker he worked at before taking office.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption received a complaint and is looking into the case, the government said yesterday. Leung has denied any wrongdoing.

Student leaders today renewed a call for protesters to bring tents to camp out on the roads. In a sign some plan a long-term stay, a make-shift bathroom was erected on the highway.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alfred Liu in Hong Kong at [email protected]; Fion Li in Hong Kong at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at [email protected]; Tan Hwee Ann at [email protected] Tan Hwee Ann, Brendan Scott


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