Demonstrators sleep during a protest outside the Central Government Offices
Demonstrations that had paralyzed parts of Hong Kong thinned yesterday after the start of talks with student leaders. Yet dozens of pro-democracy protesters continued to demonstrate yesterday outside the office of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, while others remained around the government headquarters in Admiralty district and in the shopping areas of Causeway Bay and Mong Kok.
While talks are starting with leaders of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, questions remain over how much control they have over the demonstrators who answered the calls to rally.
Below are voices from the street:
Katie Kwong, 18, a university student, who has taken part in the demonstrations for a week: ‘‘At this point the discussion will probably have to lead to some conclusion. It may not be perfect but it will get somewhere.
‘‘Even if China may not relent, and we are so small, I think our effort is already impressive, we need to at least try.
‘‘The student leaders don’t represent us. There’s no leader at this stage, we all need to gauge for ourselves if the results are enough before we decide to leave.’’
Chan Ngo Lam, 16, student: ‘‘I am here because I want to be able to elect my leader when I am 18. There are too many unreasonable rules. I don’t want to regret later if I don’t do it now. My father was 20 when Tiananmen happened so he’s very supportive of me doing this.
‘‘It’s not possible for the government to meet all requests but I hope most can be met. This is Hong Kong’s problem. Even if the student leaders ask me to leave, I may probably not go. While everyone’s goal is to have real elections and democracy, everyone’s opinions are different and even among the student leaders they have varying views. They do not represent everyone’s views so I need to see what’s laid out for us before I make a decision.”
Matthew Lam, 30, a social worker: ‘‘I will see what the government offers. The students may be facilitating the process now but it doesn’t mean I will leave when they ask me to. I need to decipher and analyze the details of the proposal and see if it’s good for Hong Kong. That’s what a Hong Konger should do. The responsibility shouldn’t fall solely on the students.
Tony Tsui, 62, a retired factory project manager: ‘‘I’m sitting here because of my conscience, because fighting for real democracy is a universal value.
‘‘I could be on a beach in Hawaii sleeping now instead of here, but without universal suffrage the leaders are pro-business and pro-tycoon which puts our young people at a very unfair disadvantage.
‘‘I think it’s necessary to talk with the government as we can’t have occupying be part of the movement forever. That the movement has extended more than a week is really beyond my expectations. But I worry about how this will end, what can the government offer us? Will they use delaying tactics?
‘‘Concessions need to be on both sides. The government needs to give us something otherwise how will the student leaders tell people to leave? It will be a delicate balance for all the different sides to emerge from this winning.’’
Meteor Yau, 19, a chemistry student at the Mong Kok protest site: ‘‘After seeing what happened in Mong Kok, I decided to come here instead to protect other students. For us in Mong Kok, we don’t belong to any leaders. We don’t have to listen to anyone. I think we do have some differences with the Federation of Students. It is important to hold on to our grounds in Mong Kok so we can distract the police and Admiralty will be safer.
‘‘When will we leave? Probably when we see some practical results from the talks and we find that satisfying. Or at least we are shown promising progress toward true universal suffrage even if it may not be entirely democratic. At least there should be more Legco seats through direct elections and public nominations for the chief executive. I think it all depends on whether the government package or promises can satisfy the people here. We are all different individuals in Mong Kok, so it is hard for me to say if everyone will leave. It depends on how others feel.’’ Weiyi Lim, Fion Li, Alfred Liu and Natasha Khan, Bloomberg
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