POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 64 (17-02-2015)

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.

Umbrella Movement

The Umbrella Movement (Chinese: 雨傘運動; pinyin: yǔsǎn yùndòng) is a loose political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong government, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.

The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace,  groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.

Occupy Central site in Causeway Bay was cleared as police moved in  ...

POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 64: 

Full coverage of the day’s events

Beijing `open' to meeting pan-dems




Another meeting between pan-democratic lawmakers and Beijing officials on political reform may be held before the end of March, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen revealed.
Speaking yesterday after a Tsuen Wan District Council meeting on political reform, Tam said the new meeting could be held after the National People's Congress annual session next month.

"If both sides are willing to be open- minded and have a positive attitude, I think such an arrangement is not difficult," he said.

Tam said he met with NPC Standing Committee deputy secretary-general and Basic Law Committee chairman Li Fei during his recent visit to Beijing, and that officials were open to a meeting.

"In the Beijing meeting, it was mentioned that some pan-democrat lawmakers were hoping for communication with the central government, even though their stance on political reform was completely different from Beijing's," Tam said. "Some Hong Kong pan-democratic lawmakers still think it is good to maintain communication. Some lawmakers asked me if I can pass these views to Beijing."

Tam added: "It is still unknown whether a meeting can be arranged for late March because everybody knows it is now the Lunar New Year holiday and several weeks later, the NPC and [Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference] annual meeting will be held, so it may not be so easy to arrange a meeting during this period."

Tam said Beijing officials hope to find the "appropriate time" and "appropriate way" to arrange the meeting.

"Mainland officials are open-minded and after I returned to Hong Kong, I approached some pan-democrat lawmakers, and from newspaper reports, some pan-democratic political parties are also interested in further opportunities for communication," he said.

Tam said the political reform task force will first identify pan-democrats who are willing to attend such a meeting, and then approach other pan-democratic lawmakers.

A closed-door meeting is preferred as an open one may see grandstanding, which would reduce its effectiveness and render it "meaningless."

Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing said she has not yet been contacted, but would welcome discussions with mainland officials.

"We are happy to discuss with mainland and Hong Kong government officials, so if they are willing to meet with us, I think members of my party and of other pro-democracy parties should be willing to talk to them," Lau said.