LIVE: HONG KONG PROTESTS
2137: Our coverage of the Hong Kong protests has reached its end for today. We'll be back with more news and updates tomorrow, good night all!
2108: Eason Cheung Yiuwa, general secretary for the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said late on Tuesday that there had been no communication between the student-led protest group and the government, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We’re still waiting for the government to respond,” Cheung, 22, was quoted as saying. According the WSJ, he said the group didn’t intend to take further action imminently. “Right now we are occupying only the road.”
1723: Hong Kong leader CY Leung has asked pro-democracy protesters to stop their campaign "immediately". That comes as the BBC reports that Prime MInister Cameron will summon China's Ambassador to express his alarm over recent events in Hong Kong.
1427: The peaceful sit in, blocking central Hong Kong at the heart of the city's financial district, marks Chinese President Xi Jinping's biggest challenge since his inauguation last year.
The protests draw a remarkable parallel to the scenes reported 25 years ago at Tiananmen Square, when protests began as a peaceful fight for democracy, but ended abruptly in bloodshed.
The Hong Kong government released a statement outlining that : “Since calm has been largely restored to the streets where citizens gathered, riot police have withdrawn.”
The pause in confrontation is unlikely to last for long, as the government is still urging protestors to disperse peacefully "as soon as possible" from the "illegal" demonstration.
1222: Occupy Central has called on Mr Leung to meet protesters in person on Tuesday night. Crowds are set to swell during the evening ahead of Chinese National Day on 1 October.
Over the weekend, police used tear gas and pepper spray, but riot police have since been withdrawn and protesters are remaining calm. But as authorities look to continue with the National Day celebrations, it is thought the police may be brought back in to try to clear the streets.
1144: Protestors video scenes of dense crowds, congregating to show their support for a transparent, accountable, democratic Hong Kong
0942: Protest-leaders have vowed to accelerate their protests if the government doesn’t comply with their demands before Wednesday, which is China’s national day of celebration.
China has described the demonstrations as illegal and urged the Hong Kong government to bring them under control. As it stands, neither side seems to be close to backing down.
UK PM David Cameron revealed that he is "deeply concerned" about events in Hong Kong and hopes the standoff can be resolved.
0817: Political unrest in Hong Kong could yet overshadow the 27 October launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect Scheme (SHKSCS), which will enable investors from either city to buy shares in the other.
So, while financial markets in HK do not appear too rattled by the growing political tensions the risks “are obviously high”. A heavy-handed crackdown by authorities might irreparably damage the city’s reputation as a global financial centre, Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, wrote on Tuesday morning.
0809: Following the start of Hong Kong’s most active protest in five decades, on Monday, this morning the city’s key stock market index dropped 1.2% to 22,949.35 points, a three –month low.
Tens of thousands of protesters continued to block roads in Hong Kong through the night.
Bloomberg reported a statement from one of the Occupy Central leaders, Chan Kinman. He said: “Only when the government makes a substantial response, then we will advise people to retreat.”
The Hong Kong dollar also made a comeback today, improving on its lowest figure in two years, according to data from Bloomberg who saw an increase of 0.05% to HK$7.7629 as of 10:11am local time.
Good morning and welcome to Tuesday's coverage of the latest events transpiring in Hong Kong SAR.
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1718: Speaking to Digitallook.com, journalist Daniel Shane, currently based in Hong Kong, gave an update on the ground: "On Monday evening what seemed like thousands of peaceful protesters were still blocking Connaught Road, near the Hong Kong government's headquarters, and one of the city's main thoroughfares. Many of them were chanting and singing, with the atmosphere very relaxed; in stark contrast to Sunday night, when riot police used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse protesters.
"The demonstrators seemed mostly in high spirits, despite official messages from the Hong Kong and Beijing governments condemning the movements, with participants from students to pensioners handing out food, towels and water.
"The presence at demonstrations has been predominantly local Hong Kongers, with very few expats attending. Of the expats I spoke to, most broadly agreed with the demonstrators' demands, although expressed strong concern over repercussions of any possible intervention from the Peoples' Liberation Army."
1637: "Protestors in Hong Kong are clearly aiming for the kind of representative elections that can be found in the UK which offers a choice between two Eton graduates," writes CMC's Jasper Lawler added.
1636: With the territory’s political crisis is "showing no sign of dying down," economists at London's Capital Economics were pessimistic.
"The economy, which is already very weak, could easily be pushed into recession if the protests drag on," wrote Asia economist, Gareth Leather. "The impasse also threatens Hong Kong’s reputation as an international financial centre."
He predicted that the Chinese government is "highly unlikely" to perform a U-turn on its decision to rule out universal suffrage for 2017, meaning "there is a risk that the protestors decide to dig their heels in" and extend the demonstrations for some time.
Obviously this is damaging for both sides, Leather added: "Nor would Hong Kong be the only economy to suffer. Having Hong Kong as a gateway has provided enormous benefits to China’s economy over the past few decades. The more Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub suffers, the greater the damage will be to China."
1556: The setback on the markets today was attributed to investor concern over the uncertainty and possible repercussions of demonstrations in Hong Kong, said Jasper Lawler, Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK.
Shares in HSBC and Standard Chartered were weighing on the FTSE 100 over their exposure to Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong stocks as well as the HKD saw substantial losses after police used brutal force including tear-gas and pepper spray to quell demonstrations in the city centre. Many shops and banks are closed while the demonstrations remain which won’t help Hong Kong’s deteriorating retail sales."
Lawler added that: "The key as to whether the HK protests have any lasting impact could be the response of from the mainland, any heavy-handedness will spark western outrage, put the spotlight on Beijing and risks future FDI growth into China. A misstep by the Chinese government over the Hong Kong protests risks the country being ostracized in a similar fashion to Russia which could have even wider implications for global growth."
Sea of people protesting in Hong Kong #OccupyCentral pic.twitter.com/45S7JrWbkJ
— Michelle (@Michelle9647) September 29, 2014
1442: Hong Kong protesters remain defiant after facing tear gas and riot police in clashes, according to Agence France-Presse
1411: James Fallows, American writer and journalist, tweets his account of what it's like to be inside the Hong Kong protests:
"It was as much depressing as, ultimately, uplifting. When I was incapacitated by a blast of pepper spray, I somehow found myself being reverse crowd-surfed to a safe area.
There, a young girl cradled my head and poured water into my eyes. Some others wiped the chemicals off my arms and legs. When they went on to help the next injured person, an old woman kept watch over me, speaking soft Cantonese and plying me with all manner of snacks and drinks. These were complete strangers. Later, when we scrambled to avoid the first tear gas attack, a small band of people committed to staying put and helping the crush of smoke victims climb over the concrete barriers and into safety."
1350: According to reports the authorities might shut down the city's cellular networks. Demonstrators are said to be looking for new ways to communicate their struggle on social media in real time.
Metres away on parallel Sai Yeung Choi St, relative business as usual. Though jewellery & electronics shops closed. pic.twitter.com/gc06hE2qRR
— Tom Grundy (@tomgrundy) September 29, 2014
13:31: Taiwan President Ma Ying Jeou urged Beijing to listen to protestors in Hong Kong and respond peacefully. Ma also requested Hong Kong residentes to act rationally and protest peacefully. "Nobody wants a conflict", Ma commented on Monday as he supported Hong Kong's desire for democracy. Digital Look will keep you updated on developments in this story.
1244: International bank Standard Chartered (SC) claims it is "business as usual" for the finance sector in Hong Kong despite thousands of pro-democracy protests disrupting the city. Standard Charter and HSBC have both seen a significant fall in shares since the unrest began.
Uttam Hazarika, Investor Relations Manager at Standard Chartered, told Digital Look that: "We are down 1.8% so that's quite a lot. Obviously the share prices have also been impacted for HSBC and some of the others but HSBC is around the same level so obviously the two banks with Hong Kong exposure have been impacted."
HSBC was contacted but remains unavailable for comment. Hazarika added: "Trading days have to be cut for the business to get impacted but that hasn't happened yet. It's early days. If offices get shut down then of course there would be an impact but right now trading days are not impacted as everyone's in-office."
1233: China's foreign affairs ministry spokesman Hua Chunying has warned other countries to stay out of Hong Kong's protests: "I want to emphasise that Hong Kong belongs to China. It is a special administrative region and Hong Kong's affairs are considered purely for China to handle. I hope other countries do not interfere in Hong Kong's matters, do not support Occupy Central's illegal activities, and do not send out the wrong message.
Hours ago, support for #HongKong pro-democracy movement in #London's Trafalgar Square #OccupyCentral pic.twitter.com/tH2Nog1OEz
— Danny Lee 李嘉洪 (@JournoDannyAsia) September 28, 2014
1217: British banks close thier offices and branches in Hong Kong as protesters paralyse the city's financial district. HSBC and Standard Chartered were among the top fallers on London’s FTSE 100, falling 2 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively. Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland were also hit as it was confirmed that they too had shut branches.
1210: According to sources in Hong Kong, the protests present in the centre of the city are being over exaggerated by western media "The protests are supposedly happening in Central, but if it weren't for the news we wouldn't even know they were going on!" said a Hong Kong resident. "The protests are bad, but very localised to the government and financial areas, schools have closed but in other areas of the city, everything is okay," the source continued.
#China shuts down Instagram to prevent mainlanders from seeing images like this from Hong Kong http://t.co/dSEVPnWwc8 pic.twitter.com/kOyqby0w2l
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) September 28, 2014
1146: Hong Kong chief executive CY Leung had to publically deny rumours spread by social media that the Chinese army would intervene in the protests
Hong Kong authorities and the central government in mainland China say this pro-democracy protest is illegal pic.twitter.com/9NMSDh8Eql
— Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) September 29, 2014
1135: The UK Foreign Office has said it is "concerned about the situation in Hong Kong and is monitoring events carefully". A spokesman stated that it was "Britain's longstanding position, as a co-signatory of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, that Hong Kong's prosperity and security are underpinned by its fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to demonstrate. It is important for Hong Kong to preserve these rights and for Hong Kong people to exercise them within the law. "
1125: Michael Schuman, expert in Asian economics, says Hong Kong's economic success is "inexorably intertwined" with the civil liberties its citizens enjoy. "If Beijing knocks one of those pillars away if it suppresses people's freedoms, or tampers with its judiciary, Hong Kong would become just another Chinese city, unable to fend off the challenge from Shanghai."
1116: Tens of thousands of protesters have taken over central areas of Hong Kong and are camped outside government offices, protesting against political changes to the administrative region, which will allow direct elections but only from a pool of candidates approved by Beijing.
1115: Many professions have said they are backing the protests, or have walked out of work in solidarity. A reported 2,000 social workers began an indefinite strike on Monday, demanding an apology for police actions against the demonstrations and "protesting against Beijing's restrictive political framework for Hong Kong", according to RTHK. The government says riot police have now withdrawn, and has ordered protesters to disperse peacefully as soon as possible.
1114: Standard Chartered and HSBC have sunk to the bottom of the Footsie on the back of the most recent events in Hong Kong.
1100: Good morning. Welcome to our Live coverage of the mostrecent events which are now transpiring in the special administrative area of Hong Kong.