Hong Kong | Protest violence continues amid plan for talks

A pro-democracy protester carries a banner that reads: “bad police” down an occupied section of the Mong Kok district in Hong Kong

Hong Kong officials and pro-democracy protesters agreed to start talks this week, while police and demonstrators continue to face off in Mong Kok after three days of clashes that left officers and students injured.
Discussions will begin Tuesday, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, the city’s No. 2 official, said Saturday, a day after police clashed with about 9,000 demonstrators following the clearing of barricades by authorities. The Hong Kong Federation of Students, one of the groups leading the protests, said it will participate in the dialogue.
Students are demanding China reverse its decision that candidates for the city’s leadership election in 2017 must be vetted by a committee. The rule triggered the protests, which swelled to as many as 200,000 people at their peak, according to organizers. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has said Beijing’s decision isn’t negotiable. Hong Kong’s finance and health chiefs yesterday called on the protesters to withdraw while the talks take place.
“At this moment, the movement’s founders, students in the movement and citizens who support it should put their passions down, calmly assess the direction of the movement as it continues,” Financial Secretary John Tsang wrote in his blog. “Withdrawal isn’t an easy decision, which warrants a great deal of courage. But I still believe you can have the bravery to make the right choice at the key moments.”
Clashes between police and demonstrators, and with groups who oppose the Occupy movement, have led to arrests and injuries as the protests drag into their fourth week and tempers get short. While demonstrations in Mong Kok were peaceful Saturday evening and jewelry shops on a main thoroughfare were open, skirmishes erupted just after midnight and police used batons to push back protesters.
On Oct. 17, police used batons, shields and pepper spray as they sought to reclaim roads filled with a crowd they estimated at 9,000. Chui Chun-tak, chief superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch, told reporters Oct. 17 that 38 officers had been injured since the demonstrations started. He said five were hurt in yesterday’s early morning skirmishes.
Thirteen protesters were hurt in the clashes in Mong Kok yesterday, seven with head injuries, RTHK reported citing Au Yiu Kai, a volunteer who leads the Occupy Central movement’s medical team.
More than 200 people have been hospitalized over the past three weeks of protests, Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said on a Cable TV live broadcast Saturday. Yesterday he urged the demonstrators to refrain from violence.
“As the government has already made arrangements to have dialogue with the students in the hope of resolving the situation, I would appeal here again to the protesters that it would be counter-productive to resort to violence again at this particular time point,” Ko said. “I am in particular worried about the casualties that may result.”
Hong Kong earlier canceled talks that had been scheduled to begin Oct. 10, after leaders of the movement called supporters back to the streets, Lam said at the time.
Leung said Thursday the police will continue actions to end the blockades that still disrupt transport and commerce in the one of the world’s biggest financial centers.
“Dialogue and clearing protesters are two different issues,” he said at the time. “We won’t stop clearing protesters because we are having dialogue. We won’t stop having dialogue because we are clearing the sites.”
Financial Secretary Tsang wrote on his blog that the protests’ impact on the Hong Kong’s economy will mostly be reflected in the medium- to long-term, including the city’s international reputation.
“Even if it is just about foreigners’ impression of Hong Kong, once changes occur, it’s going to be very hard to reverse that,” he wrote. Preliminary data show the retail and restaurant sectors have been affected the most, and credit-card expenditures have dropped significantly since the protests began.
The Standing Committee of China’s legislature ruled in August that the candidates for Hong Kong’s 2017 election would have to be screened by a 1,200-member nominating committee. Pro-democracy activists say the mechanism will guarantee a leader loyal to the government in Beijing. Fion Li and Chong Pooi Koon , Bloomberg