Hong Kong officials are “open” to meeting with Occupy Central protestors
Thousands of peaceful protestors continued to line the streets of Hong Kong today, as the government initiates the first small-steps to begin negotiations with leaders of the demonstration.
Protestors are refusing to budge until Hong Kong’s chief executive, CY Leung, resigns and Beijing withdraws the announced undemocratic political reforms.
During a speech on Wednesday, CY Leung stated: “It is definitely better to have universal suffrage than not. It is definitely better to have Hong Kong’s CE elected by five million eligible voters than 1200 people,” showing his apparent support for democracy. However, the CE is refusing to step down from his position, reportedly calling the protests “disruptive” and “illegal”.
The Hong Kong government revealed on Wednesday that they keeping an “open attitude” to meeting Occupy Central protesters, but only if there are no preconditions to the meeting.
"If the protesters insist on the resignation of Leung Chun-Ying [CY Leung], the chance of [a] meeting will be very low," said a senior government spokesman.
Occupy Central organisers said they would decline an invitation on such grounds, stating that they wouldn't compromise on their demand for Leung’s resignation, according to the Wall Street Journal.
An extraordinary escalation in tactics has emerged among Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters. Following a news conference, Hong Kong's protesters issued an ultimatum to Chief Executive CY Leung to either step down before Thursday, or else the protests would be escalated to target important government buildings, according to the South China Morning Post.
Despite the demonstration’s incredible turnout, which has so far involved hundreds of thousands of protestors, the long term sustainability of the Occupy Central campaign is questionable. If the demonstrations continue to block the region’s financial district, Beijing may be forced to take action. However, it is unlikely that the Chinese government will concede to the protestor’s demands, as an allowance for Hong Kong may be taken as a precedent for Chinese citizens.