POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 75 (28-02-2015)

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 75: 

Full coverage of the day’s events on 28-02

Parallel trading

The influx of parallel traders who buy their stock tax-free in Hong Kong to resell it in mainland China at a profit is causing growing unrest. Residents of Sheung Shui, a town close to China's border, say the increase in parallel importers has pushed up retail prices and causes a general nuisance. Importers argue that their trade benefits the Hong Kong economy.

Political group to monitor protest against 'parallel traders' in Yuen Long

Group to send observers to monitor and record demonstration in Yuen Long with eye on possible court action amid fear of clashes

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Opponents of the protest speak to media. Photo: Emily Tsang Oi-ying

More than 100 observers and a team of legal experts will be deployed by a political group to monitor a protest against mainland traders in Yuen Long today, its chairman said.

Lawmaker Leung Che-cheung, who chairs the New Territories Association of Societies, said observers would monitor and record the protest with a view to possible legal action after violent clashes at previous demonstrations.

Today's protest, organised by radical groups Civic Passion and Frontline Democracy, is the third in a month targeting so-called parallel traders, who buy goods in Hong Kong for resale across the border. Protests in Tuen Mun and Sha Tin last month forced stores to close, while police made several arrests and used pepper spray.

Rumours on internet forums suggested some Yuen Long residents were planning a counter-protest to "protect" the town, perhaps by throwing objects at the protesters.

Leung called for calm, but said: "There are some retailers who said they would retaliate against the actions. We hope all parties remain rational and peaceful."

He said he had not heard of any plan to throw items at protesters. Nor had he heard rumours of triads being called in, after police sources said they had warned rural strongmen about attempting to involve such gangs.

Wong Tat-kwong, president of the Yuen Long branch of the Commercial and Industrial General Association, said his organisation also reserved the right to take legal action.

"Yuen Long is already very congested due to the development and increase in population. The protest action would affect our businesses," said Wong, whose group has more than 1,000 members.

A visit by the Sunday Morning Post found that most shopkeepers intended to open as usual today, and traders planned to continue their activities.

One 77-year-old Yuen Long resident said he made HK$280 per day as a so-called parallel trader, and he planned to make his usual two cross-border trips today.

"The government is not giving the elderly enough support. This is my way of making a living," he said. "I will have a go at anyone who attempts to stop me from earning."

But local resident Michelle Lam, 19, said traders had become a nuisance.

"The traders carry trolleys all around, blocking the flow on the narrow streets, and empty the shelves of the shops," said Lam, who has lived in the district all her life. "They are very impolite and noisy."

Protesters also accuse the traders of overcrowding public transport, and say their demand for certain types of goods has changed the retail landscape as shops serve them rather than the needs of local people.

Organisers say they plan to protest peacefully, and blame the police and mainlanders for inciting clashes at past protests.

They expect some 400 people to join the march from Long Ping MTR station to Sau Fu Street, a shopping area popular with mainlanders. A police spokesman said the force respected freedom of expression but would act if anyone violated the law.

Leung said the government should review the policy of allowing mainlanders to make multiple visits to the city.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Legal eye on traders protest

Most back reform plan, finds survey for DAB



More than 60 percent of Hongkongers feel the Legislative Council should pass the government's political reform package while 30 percent disagree, according to the pro-establishment DAB.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said the survey was conducted on its behalf by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Centre, which interviewed 811 citizens aged 18 and above.

About 83.3 percent said the legislature should vote according to public opinion and 63.7 percent said they were pessimistic about the future of universal suffrage if the reform package is rejected.

DAB vice chairman Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan said more than half of citizens have made their views known, and he called on the pan-democrats to respect public opinion.

"The major obstacle is that the opposition camp refuses to have a discussion on the August 31 framework but if they accept what 60 percent of citizens want, then political reform can be completed smoothly," he said.

Beijing's August 31 ruling set the framework for the chief executive election in 2017 on which the reforms proposals are based.

About 195 interviewees, or 24.1 percent, insisted the package should be vetoed even if there is an amendment to universal suffrage after 2017.

Cheung said these were diehard democrats and society should not give up Hong Kong's future because of them.

Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah- kit, who is also the meeting convener of pan-democrats, said the package will not be passed in Legco.

He added there are other surveys with different results from the DAB's. "If only about two million Hong Kong people disagree with the `pocket it first' option, and if they assume it will be a `pocket it forever' plan without any real choices, that is still enough reason not to approve the package," Leong said.

Executive Council convener Lam Woon-kwong said universal suffrage is the most important issue after Hong Kong's return to China and he called on pan-democrats to respect the views of the majority. He said many public polls revealed more than 50 percent of citizens want Legco to pass the package.

Constitutional affairs chief Raymond Tam Chi-yuen is now "cautiously optimistic" on reforms rather than "extremely pessimistic."