Occupy Central
Occupy Central is a civil disobedience movement which began in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. It calls on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong's financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong governments do not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to "international standards." The movement was initiated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷), an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, in January 2013.
OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 65: Full coverage of the day’s events
PUBLISHED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 3:24am
UPDATED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 3:24am
Hong Kong is paying the price of protest
Alice Wu says however the Occupy protests end, Hong Kong has already lost a lot of time - and goodwill - in its reform challenge
When it comes to the challenge of electoral reform and Hong Kong's political development, the notion that "we can't afford to lose" may seem overused and, in a sense, insulting. We have already lost, each and every one of us. We've lost social cohesion and our sense of community. The "unfriending" frenzy on social media was only the tip of the iceberg.
Whether annihilating each other online has led to real-life segregation or vice versa is something for social scientists to figure out. What we must deal with now is how we can move forward. A needed public conversation about how we should elect our leaders was put off for so long that it has turned into grievous social discord. Healing will be difficult.
Some may consider that the occupied areas have formed a new community, but they are built on isolation and exclusion, at the expense of those who happened to be in the way, or who disagreed with the protesters. Those closed-off islands, with barricades to disengage from the rest of society, are, at their core, destructive and delusionary.
It goes against the democratic characteristics of inclusiveness and openness. The longer these closed-off communities are allowed to carry on, the more warped their occupants' worldview will become, and the stronger their sense of victimhood. Why else would the rest of us be so perturbed by some of their ideas about the rule of law?
Yes, those who exercise power have the responsibility to adhere to the highest level of self-restraint. But that's not to say that those with less power are entitled to act with no restraint and cherry-pick when it comes to the rule of law. It's ludicrous that what is arguably our strongest democratic feature - the rule of law - has been sacrificed in the name of democracy.
By far, though, it's the lost time that will prove the most costly. Had discussions about the next step - anticipated since the previous reform package was passed by the legislature and ratified by Beijing in 2010 - begun earlier than in December 2013, things might have been different. That delay cost us opportunities for engagement and dialogue. We could be arriving at a much better position than we are now.
Francis Lui Ting-ming, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology who founded the group Silent Majority for Hong Kong and who has tried to put a price tag on the Occupy movement, estimated that it may well have set back Hong Kong's political development by a decade.
Only time will tell whether wiping out the little trust that we had within the community, and between Hong Kong and Beijing, will cost this city so much. But a decade is a long time, considering that we've already used up 17 of the 50 years granted under the Basic Law.
Unfortunately, a pause in political development will affect all other areas. Time, unlike what student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung claimed in his recent op-ed in The New York Times, isn't on his side. Before we can even begin to talk about the process of healing and reconciliation, we have these bills to pay.
Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Price of discord
Pollster questions independence of government's 'public consultation'
Beijing's limits on the chief executive election supposedly take into account public opinion. So what happened to the pan-democrats' voice?
PUBLISHED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 3:34am
Posters saying "scrap the decision made by the Standing Committee of National People's Congress" are aligned in rows at occupied sites alongside yellow banners with the words "I want genuine universal suffrage".
The Beijing body's ruling means a maximum of three candidates - who must each secure support from at least half the nominating committee members - will be allowed to run for chief executive in 2017.
The stricter-than-expected decision is based upon the Hong Kong government's consultation report that took into account the views of the public and was submitted to Beijing in July. It has sparked a lawsuit and protests in which tens of thousands have taken to the streets to voice their desire to have a say in who those candidates will be.
With the "umbrella movement" taking over parts of Mong Kok, Admiralty and Causeway Bay, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said last month that the government would kick off the second round of political reform consultation by the end of the year.
This round will focus on working out the technical details of the election model within Beijing's framework. Pan-democratic lawmakers have said they will boycott it because there is nothing they can do within "such a restrictive outline".
Some protesters are also dismissive of the exercise.
"What the government concluded in the previous consultation was inaccurate and failed to reflect our voice," said Joe Chu, who has been camped out in Admiralty. "I believe the next consultation will be only a gesture," he said. "There will be no room for negotiation unless they make significant concessions - such as widening the voter base of the nominating committee extensively."
Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu, the director of the University of Hong Kong's public opinion programme, said the administration's first consultation report misinterpreted public opinion and gave people an impression that it was drawing conclusions that Beijing wanted to see.
The report, a summary of the five-month consultation, sparked controversy by stating "mainstream opinion" was that the chief executive should be a person who "loves the country and Hong Kong" - a requirement not written in the city's mini-constitution known as the Basic Law and seen by some as a move to screen out pan-democrats.
The report also said "some" people had suggested capping the number of chief executive candidates at two or three.
The Occupy movement's organisers condemned the consultation report for misleading the National People's Congress Standing Committee.
They urged the government to submit a supplement report to the committee that would reflect calls for democracy as reflected in the results of Occupy Central's unofficial plebiscite in June and the annual July 1 march, from Victoria Park to Central, but their requests have been turned down.
Chung doubted the report's accuracy and urged the government to commission independent experts to analyse the opinions collected in future consultations - or at the very least seek their advice. "There would be no problem if the government was neutral," he said. "But on political reform, apparently it has already taken a stance."
No survey was cited in the report showing that Hongkongers preferred limiting the number of hopefuls to three, Chung said.
"How could the government draw such a conclusion?" he asked.
"If government is going to draw the same conclusion no matter what the citizens' views are … the credibility of consultation will be compromised and citizens might join the struggle as they feel their views are not respected."
A spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau insisted that the report "truthfully and comprehensively" reflected views received from groups and individuals from various community sectors.
However, Chung also questioned the report's methodology.
The report cited eight surveys conducted by five organisations this year. Among them, Chung's public opinion programme at the University of Hong Kong and Chinese University's Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies were the only academic and what could be considered impartial bodies.
The rest - particularly the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Centre and Hong Kong Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (Provincial) Members Association - have a pro-Beijing background. Dr Thomas So Chi-ki, the chairman of the Hong Kong Research Association, is a delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Without naming particular polls, Chung said: "If one or two polls quoted were far off the beam … the accuracy of the report would already be undermined."
The public would eventually lose faith in opinion polls if the government ignored those that were conducted conscientiously, he said.
A lawsuit filed by Cheung Chau island resident Kwok Cheuk-kin and being handled by barrister Martin Lee Chu-ming SC - a former lawmaker and founder of the Democratic Party - claims the consultation report is "seriously misleading" and "unfair to the public".
Chung hoped the court case would prompt the government to do a better job in the next round of consultation.
The government should also lay out the "game rules", such as how it would weigh opinions canvassed via meetings with lawmakers, parties and organisations, written submissions and surveys before the next consultation starts, he said.
He believed this would help the government avoid unfairly giving more weight to opinions that support its agenda.
Professor Peter Yuen Pok-man, dean of the College of Professional and Continuing Education at Polytechnic University who has carried out various consultation projects for the government, agreed that a third party should be in charge of the next consultation exercise.
"Sometimes the government will ask a third party to do it while other times not," said Yuen, who was in charge of the West Kowloon project consultation commissioned by the government. "I wonder what their criteria are."
But lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who is also a member of the Executive Council, said the administration's consultation had already considered opinions from a variety of sectors and that it was impossible to pass on such an important job involving Beijing to a third party.
She defended the decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress about the election process.
"Central government officials have come south several times. They also met pan-democrats in Shanghai and the pro-establishment camp in Shenzhen," she said. "Beijing is fully aware of Hongkongers' views, and it does not draw the blueprint simply based on the government's report."
Ip, also leader of the New People's Party, said Beijing's ruling could not be changed and called on the Hong Kong government to complete the second round of consultation within two months as "time is running out".
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Lost in consultation
Students urged to abandon plan to escalate democracy campaign
The government won't be paralysed, minister says, as others fear violence and bloodshed
PUBLISHED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 3:34am
Officials and pro-establishment politicians had urged student leaders not to escalate their campaign for democracy ahead of last night's mayhem in Admiralty, with one stressing that the government would continue to function even under siege.
"There have been occasions when large numbers of people have gathered around the government headquarters," Transport and Housing Secretary Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said. "But the government used all possible means to keep the offices operating as normal."
Cheung was speaking hours before student leaders announced at 9pm in Admiralty that the campaign would be escalated. Federation of Students representative Nathan Law Kwun-chung told the crowd to head for government headquarters, and police used pepper spray and batons on protesters in the ensuing clashes.
Earlier in the day, Education Secretary Eddie Ng Hak-kim urged the students to abandon their plan for escalation. Ng said: "I am worried that the situation could … spin out of control, so I hope they stop."
Food and Health Secretary Dr Ko Wing-man was concerned that people could get hurt, and if a number of people were taken to hospital at the same time it could put a strain on services at public hospital emergency rooms.
But he disagreed with Cheung on the impact of a potential blockade on government headquarters. Ko said: "I can tell the public for sure that [a siege] will definitely affect our efficiency."
Executive councillor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said the students risked losing their fight for democracy "if they lose public support", and that people were complaining about the disruption brought by the campaign. She added many protesters just "repeat what others say" and might not even understand the meaning of genuine universal suffrage.
The New People's Party founding chairwoman also dismissed the idea of imposing a curfew, saying it would affect businesses and Hong Kong's international image. Even if a curfew were imposed, she said, protesters would stay on the streets, leading to mass arrests.
Also speaking earlier yesterday, Wang Dan , a former student leader exiled from the mainland after the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, said he feared there would be bloodshed at last night's rally.
Separately, police said 38 men and four women had been arrested in Mong Kok since Friday. Some were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly and assaulting police officers.
Additional reporting by Phila Siu and Fanny W. Y. Fung
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Students urged against further action
Beijing loyalists say views of majority must be heard in reform consultations
PUBLISHED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 3:34am
Hongkongers' views on how to achieve universal suffrage for the city's leader in 2017 must be heard despite pan-democratic vows to boycott the exercise, pro-establishment lawmakers say.
Determined to prepare for the government's upcoming consultation on political reform, Beijing-loyalist groups such as the Federation of Trade Unions and the New People's Party will reactivate their steering groups, while the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong could organise forums and polls to gather public opinion.
FTU lawmaker Wong Kwok-kin said the group was planning an extensive series of discussion sessions because they had to be accountable to residents.
"We have to show our sincerity and we won't be doing anything just because some said they will veto the government's reform package," he added.
On August 31, the national legislature ruled that while Hong Kong could pick its leader by "one person, one vote", only two or three candidates who secured at least half of a 1,200-strong nominating committee's support could run.
The decision played a key role in triggering the Occupy protests in September, with activists saying it would deprive voters of a genuine choice of candidates.
Pan-democrat lawmakers vowed to boycott the government's "meaningless" consultation exercise - which was expected to follow Beijing's ruling. But Wong suggested pan-democrats were being too pessimistic.
"If a candidate appears to be too pro-business, even if he can win enough nominations, he will definitely lose in the public election," he argued.
Wong believes discussion is needed to outline the details of the nominating and voting process. He said the FTU would assess the opinions of its 400,000 members - via a six-member task force that will soon be reactivated and which he will serve on - and come up with a proposal.
DAB chairman Tam Yiu-chung said his party had yet to decide on the details of its strategy, but was likely to include public forums and opinion surveys.
However, not all pro-establishment parties will be holding forums. New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said she would mainly rely on "reactivating" her 11-strong study group of pro-establishment lawmakers and business leaders to come up with suggestions on electoral reform.
She said her party had already held a series of discussion sessions with different sectors during the government's five-month consultation earlier this year.
The study group, formed last December, came up with a proposal in April.
Its members included the party's vice-chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun and three non-affiliated lawmakers - Martin Liao Cheung-kong, Chan Kin-por and Tony Tse Wai-chuen.
"This upcoming consultation will mainly focus on the nominating process and procedural details, so we will discuss these topics," she said.
Ip said she was aware all this could be in vain if pan-democrats insisted on vetoing the government's eventual reform package. But she said she still hoped at least five pan-democrats would change their minds, to give the package a two-thirds majority in the Legislative Council.
"[I still believe] that universal suffrage would help to improve the mandate of the chief executive," she said.
Wong added that he believed the majority of Hongkongers wanted to be able to vote in 2017, and that pan-democrats should take note of that.
"They should know that it's stupid not to accept 'one man, one vote', because having millions vote is surely better than only having 1,200 voters," he said.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Views of majority 'must be heard'
PUBLISHED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 4:56am
UPDATED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 4:56am
Hong Kong journalists face police anger in Mong Kok
It's open season suddenly on journalists covering the Occupy eviction in Mong Kok.
A technician carrying equipment for an iCable television news cameraman was arrested last week for assaulting the police, as was an Apple Dailyphotographer, who was put in handcuffs even after he showed his press card to prove his identity. Generally, my media colleagues and friends have reported that police have turned rough with frontline journalists recently. It's a sea change in attitude from the first month of the crisis when frontline police and reporters managed to cooperate mostly, or at least have a tacit understanding.
This is certainly unfortunate. Notwithstanding critics from the pan-democratic camp and those from overseas with their own agendas and preconceptions, our police have so far performed the gruelling and unrewarding task of controlling the protesting crowds and ensuring their safety in an honourable and exemplary way. Throughout the crisis, many have had to work long shifts while enduring constant verbal abuse and provocation from protesters.
Under such conditions, it's not surprising that some officers may start losing patience.
It's probably no coincidence that last week's rough treatment of journalists also saw the arrest of seven suspended officers alleged to have beaten Civic Party activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu during clashes with protesters in Admiralty last month.
The alleged beating was captured by a TVB news crew. Many officers have, unreasonably, blamed the media for the arrested officers' woes.
As much as I support our police and admire their general discipline, the arrested officers have no one but themselves to blame. In any case, if police think some media coverage of their operations have been unfair, as arguably it has been with one or two newspapers, they should take it up with their top editors and owners. A news photographer or a TV technician are low down the news hierarchy and have little or no input in how the news is presented to the public. Like frontline officers, they too have to work long hours under very difficult conditions.
The media is not your enemy. But if you make an enemy of it, it will become one.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Journalists face police anger in Mong Kok
Hong Kong democracy protesters attempt to block office of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying
- 23 HOURS AGO DECEMBER 01, 2014
HUNDREDS of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters faced off against police early on Monday in a fresh escalation of tensions, with officers firing pepper spray at angry students trying to surround the government headquarters.
In chaotic scenes, protesters wearing helmets and wielding umbrellas spilled into a major road outside the office of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying as police tried to beat them back with batons and pepper spray.
“I want true democracy!” protesters yelled.
“Surround the headquarters. Paralyse the government.”
Protest aftermath ... a protester is attended after being hit by pepper spray by policemen outside government headquarters. Picture: AP Photo/Vincent Yu Source: AP
Protesters have been staging mass sit-ins in Hong Kong for more than two months, demanding free leadership elections for the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
China’s communist authorities insist candidates for the 2017 vote must be vetted by a loyalist committee, which the protesters say will ensure the election of a pro-Beijing stooge.
Police said they had made 40 arrests overnight.
As the morning rush-hour approached, hundreds of protesters — many of them sleeping — remained spread across Lung Wo Road, a major traffic artery connecting the east and west of Hong Kong island.
A police spokesman said the road was “illegally occupied” and that officers would move to clear it.
The struggle continues ... pro-democracy protesters clash with police. Picture: Chris McGrath/Getty Images Source:Getty Images
Several protesters were injured in the overnight clashes. One was seen led away by police with a bloodied face, while others were tended to by first-aid volunteers after being fired at with pepper spray.
Protesters wore builders’ hard hats and used umbrellas — which have come to symbolise the pro-democracy movement — to shield themselves from the pepper spray.
Police had to dodge helmets and bottles that were lobbed through the air. One officer was carted into the back of an ambulance on a stretcher.
“I’m more determined than ever, because the police are abusing their power,” protester Kelvin Lau told AFP.
“This is a long-awaited escalation of action. It should have happened ages ago.”
Batons and umbrellas ... police officers disperse protesters after they tried to surround Hong Kong government headquarters late on Sunday. Picture: AP Photo/Vincent Yu Source: AP
The protests drew tens of thousands of people at times during their first weeks, but the numbers have dwindled as the movement’s leaders struggle to keep up momentum.
Frustrations have grown among the demonstrators as Beijing refuses to budge on the vetting of candidates, while support has waned among residents grown weary of the transport disruption.
Hundreds of tents continue to block a long stretch of a multi-lane highway outside government headquarters in central Hong Kong, while a smaller camp blocks another busy road in the shopping district of Causeway Bay.
Police cleared a third protest site in working-class Mongkok last week, making more than 140 arrests, but sporadic scuffles have continued there between police and crowds of angry demonstrators.
Mid-clash ... a protester falls to the ground as he and others run away from police officers outside government headquarters. Picture: AP Photo/Vincent Yu Source: AP
A British colony until 1997, Hong Kong enjoys civil liberties not seen on the Chinese mainland, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.
But fears have been growing that these freedoms are being eroded. The fresh clashes came as a group of British lawmakers investigating Britain’s relations with Hong Kong were told China will not allow them into the former colony.
Richard Ottaway, who chairs the cross-party Foreign Affairs Committee, said he would call Monday for an emergency debate in parliament on the situation.
“The Chinese government have, in past weeks and months, registered their opposition to the inquiry,” the committee said in a statement.
The panel is looking into Britain’s relations with the Chinese special administrative region 30 years on from the 1984 Joint Declaration, which set out the terms of the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.
Democracy not dead ... protesters were asked to bring masks, umbrellas and helmets in a bid to move the protests forward after police successfully cleared the Mong Kok protest site last week. Picture: Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images Source:Getty Images
OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 64: Joshua Wong announces hunger strike to call for talks with government
Good evening and welcome to scmp.com's live coverage of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.
Caught on camera: suspected police officer knocked unconscious by Occupy protesters as fighting erupts
Violence erupted in Admiralty with at least one suspected undercover police officer rushed to hospital after he was kicked and stomped on the ground by students.
Occupy Central could stunt Hong Kong’s growth, warns Financial Secretary John Tsang
As retail sales slow down, financial chief warns growth may dip below 2.2pc forecast
PUBLISHED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 1:43pm
Hong Kong's economic growth for this year could be lower than the government's earlier adjusted forecast of 2.2 per cent, the financial chief warned yesterday, as retail sales growth in October also slowed.
Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah issued the warning after Occupy Central protesters escalated their actions and attempted to lay siege to the Chief Executive's Office.
Meanwhile, the Census and Statistics Department announced yesterday that retail sales in October rose 1.4 per cent compared to the same month last year. The year-on-year rise in September was 4.8 per cent.
"I am worried that, as the protests and political disputes go on, the consumer market will be further affected, and that the business environment will become more unstable," Tsang said.
In August, the government predicted real gross domestic product growth for the year of 2 to 3 per cent. That forecast was adjusted to 2.2 per cent last month.
But Tsang said yesterday that, amid continued uncertainty, there is a risk the figure could be even lower. The economy grew 2.7 per cent in the third quarter.
Although the Hong Kong Tourism Board's October figures showed that the number of visitors actually rose 12.6 per cent, with tourists from the mainland soaring by 18.3 per cent, Tsang pointed out there had been dips in the number of visitors from other countries.
Tsang stressed he was "definitely not scaremongering" about the Occupy movement's impact on the economy.
He also said that while the economies in Europe and Japan were still a worry, the US was recovering and the mainland has been growing steadily.
Property transactions in the first 10 months of this year reached 5,700 a month on average, up 25 per cent on last year, he said. Property prices also rose 10 per cent in the first 10 months.
Paul Tang Sai-on, chief economist of the Bank of East Asia, forecast economic growth of 2.1 per cent this year. He said mainland tourist numbers were up in October probably because some booked their trips and hotels before Occupy started.
But Andy Kwan Cheuk-chiu, director of the ACE Centre for Business and Economic Research, forecast that the growth would not dip below 2.2 per cent.
In the wake of Tsang's remarks, the Hang Seng Index closed at 23,367, down 620 points or 2.58 per cent. China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) slipped to 50.3 in November from October's 50.8.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Continuing strife could hit economy, says Tsang
C.Y. Leung issues strongest warning yet to Occupy Central protesters
Citing Chinese saying on limits to tolerance, chief executive tells protesters that stand-offs by police at sit-in sites are not sign of weakness
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has issued his strongest warning yet about clearing the nine-week-old Occupy Central protest sites, hours after overnight clashes between police and pro-democracy protesters who laid siege to government headquarters in Admiralty.
Leung yesterday cited a Chinese saying, "if this can be tolerated, what cannot?", adding that because police had not yet taken action to clear some areas, it was not because they were incapable or a sign of weakness.
The administration issued a statement condemning "violent radicals" who repeatedly stormed government headquarters and charged police lines.
Leung also said there growing calls from the public for sites to be cleared. "Many residents are of the view that there is a limit to their tolerance," he said.
The Causeway Bay sit-in, outside Sogo department store near Yee Wo Street, is the police's next clearance target after Mong Kok, a police source said. They would then close in on the Admiralty zone, in an operation also planned for this month.
Student groups that had incited people to charge the premises on Sunday night admitted they had failed. They would now hold discussions with protesters on the way forward.
Last night Joshua Wong Chi-fung, convenor of student activist group Scholarism, said he and two other group members would stage an indefinite hunger strike to call for an open dialogue with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor over the relaunch of political reform.
The protests had interrupted government operations in the morning, with a number of meetings changing venue and some civil servants not being able to get to work, but normal operations had resumed by the afternoon.
Federation of Students' secretary general Alex Chow Yong-kang conceded "the plan did not achieve its original objective in the end, which was to paralyse government".
The overnight drama began with the federation and Scholarism urging protesters to gather at the Admiralty encampment on Sunday night. Throughout the night, hundreds of protesters tried to breach police lines near the government complex. Officers used batons, pepper spray and high-pressure water hoses to repel them, and managed to reopen blocked roads the next morning. Police said 40 people were arrested in the commotion.
Last night the Hospital Authority said that between 10pm on Sunday night and 2pm yesterday, 58 people, including 11 police officers, were sent to accident and emergency wards.
Twenty-three of the city's 27 pan-democratic lawmakers called on student leaders to stop intensifying their action to avoid more people getting hurt.
Leung said the government did not want to clear the sites unless it was "absolutely necessary".
"We do not want to arrest people, particularly young people and students … as that will leave them with criminal records, which will affect their chances of studying and working overseas."
Professor Lau Siu-kai, vice-chairman of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, described the latest protest escalation as "self-destruction" of the protest leaders.
Lau warned that the radical action would spark an "authoritarian backlash" and regression of democratic development.
In the High Court yesterday, a judge granted cross-border bus company All China Express an interim injunction to clear a section from Connaught Road to Cotton Tree Drive in the Admiralty-Central protest area.
The police source said hundreds of officers were gearing up to act on the rally zone near Sogo next week at the earliest, and would help bailiffs enforce yesterday's injunction in Harcourt Road after that.
Gary Cheung, Clifford Lo, Danny Lee, Tony Cheung, Ernest Kao, Elizabeth Cheung, Julie Chu, Shirley Zhao and Alan Yu
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Leung issues toughest warning over Occupy
Hong Kong's political backdrop won't affect court's role in Occupy cases, says High Court judge
Assurance from the court as bus firm granted injunction to clear roads
A High Court judge has given an assurance that the political background against which Occupy Central protests are set will not affect the judiciary's role and duties in assessing the legal rights of parties taking their cases to court.
Mr Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung spoke as he granted a bus operator an interim injunction to clear the obstruction of two main roads in Admiralty and Central.
The applicant, Kwoon Chung Bus Holdings subsidiary All China Express, had suffered substantial losses because its vehicles could not pass through the occupied Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road and Cotton Tree Drive, Au said.
"The defendants simply have no legal right whatsoever to occupy and block in the way the protesters do the public roads in question," he wrote in his judgment, passed down yesterday.
"The balance of convenience lies overwhelmingly in favour of granting the injunction."
Earlier, All China Express told the court that ticket sales for its southbound service had fallen more than HK$691,800, or 17 per cent, between September 29 and October 26. Occupy Central began on September 28.
Au said the court would determine cases only by applying the law, and would not take into account political considerations. The fact that there were political undertones in the disputes "does not and should not affect the court's role and duty in adjudicating those legal rights".
He denied the application of another Kwoon Chung unit, school bus firm Kwoon Chung Motors, because it suffered only "trivial" losses of HK$4,594 in fuel costs and overtime pay.
According to yesterday's ruling, protesters must leave Connaught Road Central, from Edinburgh Place to Harcourt Road; Harcourt Road, from Edinburgh Place to Cotton Tree Drive, and Cotton Tree Drive, from Harcourt Road to Queensway. All China Express is to submit a plan by December 4, showing the areas covered by the court order.
The judge also authorised bailiffs and the police to help the firm execute the order if necessary. Kwoon Chung Bus Holdings chairman Matthew Wong would not say when it would take action.
"We've seen that even after the Mong Kok site was cleared, lots of problems were left," Wong said. "I think the government and police would have a better way to deal with this." He was referring to two injunctions Au issued on November 10 to taxi and minibus drivers' groups to clear sit-ins in Mong Kok, which could not take place until last week, after court procedures ended.
Meanwhile, four protesters, including Lester Shum of the Federation of Students and Tam Tak-chi of People Power, argued in court that bail conditions imposed over their alleged criminal offences undermined their freedom of movement, liberty and religion. The four are barred from entering a designated area in Mong Kok that is five times larger than the injunction area. Mr Justice Derek Pang Wai-cheong will hand down his judgment today.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Political climate won'tcome into it, says judge
Hong Kong police thwart student plans to blockade government headquarters
Police thwart student plans to blockade government headquarters and CY's office
The city witnessed the strongest show of force yet by Occupy protesters and police in Admiralty late on Sunday and in the early hours of yesterday.
Student leaders wanted to blockade the government headquarters and the chief executive's office. Protesters twice occupied Lung Wo Road but police in riot gear managed to eject them. The protesters ended up where they started - back in their tents.
Students had also wanted to blockade the main footbridge leading to the government headquarters to prevent civil servants from getting to work. But this plan failed after police took control of the bridge.
The overnight scuffles led to 40 people being sent to hospital and 17 police officers being injured. Forty people - 35 men and 5 women - were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons, theft and disorderly conduct in a public place.
After 12 hours, the students returned to their main protest site in Harcourt Road.
The retreat came after police began charging them outside Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's office at 7am. Officers swept through Tamar Park, pushing the protesters back to Harcourt Road. It was all over in half an hour.
The night had begun on a high note at 9pm on Sunday, with Federation of Students representative Nathan Law Kwun-chung calling on protesters to escalate their action. Wearing hard hats, goggles and protective masks, hundreds of them headed towards the chief executive's office.
Although a police cordon on Lung Wo Road held them back outside Leung's office, the crowd grew gradually with reinforcements pouring in from the main base in Harcourt Road.
"Five, four, three, two, one, charge!" a protester shouted, before a group rushed at police.
The protesters then spilled over onto the road and occupied one section of the thoroughfare. Some moved metal barricades to block the police.
Police fired pepper spray and used batons to disperse the protesters. Some were pushed to the ground and subdued. At least one protester ended up with a bloodied face.
The standoff lasted until 1.30am when the police launched a major counteroffensive. More than 200 riot police swiftly moved in.
The protesters opened their trademark umbrellas and used wooden boards to shield themselves, but to no avail. One shot at police officers with a fire extinguisher. Others lobbed eggs, bottles and soft drink cans at the police as they fled.
The road was cleared and reopened - but only briefly. At around 3am, after most police officers had left Lung Wo Road, the protesters returned and retook the highway.
They quickly set up barriers again, using wooden boards, bricks and parts of water-filled plastic barriers they had obtained from a nearby construction site.
Calm returned for a few hours, as police and protesters, by now exhausted, retreated for a rest.
But by 7am, a new contingent of officers in riot gear appeared suddenly from the two sides of the chief executive's office and entered Lung Wo Road.
Using fire hoses to drench protesters outside the chief executive's office, the police surged forward and pushed the crowd back on to the pavements, and then to Tamar Park.
Officers chased the protesters to the park and wielded pepper spray and batons to drive them further down Harcourt Road. Some demonstrators fell or were pushed to the ground before officers tied their hands with plastic strips.
Police also removed dozens of tents which had earlier been set up by protesters. The only trace of the protesters' presence were dried patches of grass.
On their way back to the main protest site, some protesters asked the police why they needed to use such a degree of force.
One young female protester broke into tears and said to reporters and police at the scene: "Why do you treat us this way? We didn't charge at police lines." Police officers nearby walked past without saying anything.
Danny Lee, Danny Mok, Shirley Zhao, Chris Lau, Alan Yu, Ernest Kao and Lai Ying-kit
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as A long night of skirmishes with nothing to show
Occupy Central organisers heading for a split after failed escalation?
Pan-democratic lawmakers come out against student-led escalation as dissent grows over the way forward for two-month-old movement
The key organising groups behind Occupy Central are edging further apart after pan-democratic lawmakers and Occupy's co-founders distanced themselves from a student-led escalation of the protests on Sunday.
For the first time since the protests began in late September, previously supportive lawmakers struck a note of dissent, with 23 of the 27 pan-democrats on the Legislative Council signing a joint statement urging student leaders not to escalate the campaign to avoid further injuries. They also condemned police "brutality".
The Occupy trio - who co-hosted the sit-in with leaders of the Federation of Students and Scholarism - have also faded from the limelight in recent days. None of the three - academics Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Dr Chan Kin-man, and the Reverend Chu Yiu-ming - were present for the attempt to blockade government headquarters on Sunday.
"Pan-democrats actually had no idea of the details of the operation," Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah said yesterday. "We only knew about the plan to besiege government headquarters via unofficial channels and media reports."
Lawmakers and the Occupy trio are said to have raised concerns at a meeting with students and other groups last week, warning that escalation was unwise with public support waning.
Sources close to Occupy revealed that the three had floated the idea of handing themselves in to police on Sunday to pre-empt the escalation. Others at the meeting persuaded them to stick to the original plan of handing themselves in this Friday.
While the lawmakers and Occupy leaders favour ending the occupation and building the campaign for democracy in the community, student leaders said on Sunday that only stepping up their actions would make the government address their demands. They also prefer to be arrested rather than surrender, which they see as a passive move.
Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan said students should "reflect deeply" on Sundays events, which saw arrests as well as injuries to both protesters and police officers moving in to prevent the blockade. Further escalation would be "meaningless and would only trigger more injuries".
Labour Party stalwart Lee Cheuk-yan, who was in Admiralty on Sunday to urge protesters to avoid violence, said the cost of escalation was too high.
"You could never beat police suppression no matter how you escalate the protest," said Lee, adding that he was saddened by the injuries and arrests. "It's time to figure out a strategy - other than escalation - to sustain the long-term fight."
While the movement had won support from young people, Lee warned that it risked losing backing in the community.
But Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow Yong-kang brushed off talk of a split and said three of the lawmakers, including Lee, were in Admiralty on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Tong said both sit-in organisers and the government should take a step back to cool tension.
He urged the government to conduct a "holistic consultation" on democratic development. He suggested Beijing's model for the 2017 chief executive poll - in which a 1,200-strong committee dominated by Beijing loyalists would choose two or three candidates for a public vote - might be accepted if democratic elections were promised for Legco in 2020 and the top job in 2022.
Academics, meanwhile, said the escalation could backfire.
Professor Lau Siu-kai, vice-chairman of mainland think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said the attempt to escalate showed that the movement was losing steam. He warned of an "authoritarian backlash" that would harm democratic development.
"The student movement in the United States in the 1960s led to the conservative backlash which culminated in the election of … Richard Nixon in 1968," he said. Nixon was known for his conservative domestic agenda.
"In the wake of the Occupy movement, Beijing realises it can't appease political opposition in Hong Kong with a moderate approach," added Lau, former head of Hong Kong's Central Policy Unit. "It will not be as tolerant as before of actions which challenge its authority."
Chinese University political scientist Dr Ma Ngok said taking the democracy movement into the community would be difficult given rising anti-Occupy sentiment in the past month.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Edging towards a split?
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