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Barricades remain in place after deadline passes in Hong Kong
Sydney Morning Herald - October 6, 2014
But there were signs the government and student groups leading the protest were willing to engage in talks before either side escalated the situation.
Barricades blocking streets outside the government headquarters remained untouched overnight despite chief executive Leung Chun-ying declaring he would "take all necessary actions" to restore social order and reopen roads. Smaller encampments in Causeway Bay and the Kowloon district of Mong Kok also remained.
Civil servants returned to work at central government offices in Tamar for the first time since the start of the month, as paths were cleared for workers to reach their offices.
But while police did not act on their threats to clear out protesters using "minimum force", a core group of protesters who have camped out nightly for more than a week say they did not consider it a victory.
"No, there hasn't even been progress," said Near Chiu, a 23-year-old photography graduate. "There may have been some discussions but the stance of the government hasn't changed."
Leong Chan, a 22-year-old social worker, was rushing straight to work after spending the night outside government headquarters in Admiralty. She said the only way to disperse the mass protests would be for the government to accede to their demands.
"I'm exhausted, I've been staying here for more than a week," she said. "But the decision is not made by us now; it is made by the government. People don't want to retreat, we will stay here as long as it takes."
As numbers dwindled to less than one thousand early in the morning, as many protesters headed to work or school, police could ostensibly have begun dismantling the reinforced barricades that have occupied the city streets.
But the pattern of the protests thus far has been that numbers swell rapidly toward the evening, and anything seen as unfair treatment or targeting of the protests has resulted in protesters harnessing outrage on social media to galvanise demonstrators in even larger numbers.
Despite the defiance, debate persists over whether to retreat from Mong Kok, a densely-populated district where residents' anger is at breaking point over the noise, traffic disruptions, and impact on local businesses.
Confusion reigned there on Sunday night, where some protesters urged others to retreat. But when news of a retreat spread, it spurred other students to rally even greater numbers to replace them, reluctant to cede territory they had guarded so painstakingly.
The mood in protest camps was determined but one of visible exhaustion.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students said planning for a meeting with the territory's chief secretary, Carrie Lam, was under way, but that the rules of engagement around the meeting still needed time to be agreed upon, including getting the government to agree that any outcomes of the meeting would be binding.
Student groups are also demanding that the government fairly handles any violence in occupied areas, and to launch an inquiry into an attack on pro-democracy protesters in Mong Kok on Friday.
Earlier on Sunday, more than 80 academics from universities across Hong Kong issued a joint statement, joining other prominent Hong Kongers in urging students to withdraw from public demonstrations to avoid risking their personal safety.
The statement also called on the government to "change course before it's too late" and respond to the students' appeal for electoral reform with "concrete and substantive action".
"We are opposed to the use of brutal force on our people whose pure intention is to seek rational dialogue with the government," the statement said. "Any use of excessive force will only split the society further."
Sam Ip, a 30-year-old assistant film director, said he flew back from a shoot in Korea to be part of the protests. "Maybe this movement will not be successful [for change] in this period but for hundreds of thousands of people to come out and do something, it's already a change in Hong Kong," he said.
"Even one year ago, people wouldn't be willing to block the road, to break laws to fight for what they want."
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