Communist Dirty Tricks Foil Democracy Advocates In Hong Kong

[NATO AIR]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/09/13/hong.kong.election/index.html

Sunday's election has been tarnished by charges of Chinese dirty tricks and scandals dogging politicians, the most damaging involving a Democratic Party member arrested in south China and detained for six months for hiring a prostitute.

looks like the communist overlords of hong kong are better than both american political parties in using fear and scandal to hurt their opponents.

what a shame the communists are making inroads in denying hong kong residents their rights by threatening and dividing them.

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd says dey prob'ly gonna get the Chinese water-torture...

Hong Kong Protest Leaders to Surrender to Police
December 02, 2014 ~ The three founders of Hong Kong's Occupy movement are moving ahead with plans to surrender to police and are urging their fellow protesters to retreat for their own safety.

At a news conference Tuesday, Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man, and Chu Yiu-ming announced they will turn themselves into the Central Police Station at 3:00 p.m. local time Wednesday. Benny Tai said it is unclear whether police will detain or release him and his Occupy co-founders, but he said they are ready to accept the consequences no matter the outcome. He also urged the hundreds of protesters who remain camped on Hong Kong's streets to pull back and prepare for a long-term fight aimed at securing democratic reforms. "The government that uses police batons to maintain its authority is a government that is beyond reason. For the sake of the Occupy safety, for the sake of our original intention of love and peace, as we prepare to surrender, we three urge the students to retreat, to put down deep roots in the community and transform the movement," he said.

On its Twitter page, the Occupy movement said the surrender "is not an act of cowardice" or admission of failure, but a denunciation of what it called a "heartless government." The protests, which began in late September, are calling for authorities to hold fully democratic elections in the semiautonomous Chinese territory in 2017. Authorities have declared the protests to be illegal and have tried several times to clear parts of the camps, resulting in violent clashes. It is unclear whether the protesters will agree to back down. Several student leaders have said they will not surrender, insisting instead on further escalation. One student leader hopes a hunger strike will convince authorities to consider reforms. Joshua Wong began his indefinite hunger strike late Monday, along with two other members of his group, known as Scholarism.

Occupy Central civil disobedience founder Benny Tai (C), a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, along with co-founders Chan Kin-man (L), a professor of sociology at Chinese University and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, join hands during a news conference

Twelve hours into the fast, the 18-year-old Wong told reporters his demand is to hold fresh talks, with no preconditions, on restarting Hong Kong's political reform process. He also said he wants his action to help bring attention to the so-called Occupy Central movement, which has lost momentum in recent weeks. "We admit that it's difficult in the future to have an escalated action, so besides suffering from batons and tear gas, we would like to use our body to get public attention on the issue. We are not sure if the hunger strike can put pressure on the government, but we hope that when the public finds out about the student hunger strike, they will ask themselves what they can do next," said Wong.

The hunger strike is being held in the Admiralty district, where clashes erupted Sunday after protesters broke through police lines in an attempt to surround government headquarters. Police pushed back with pepper spray and batons, but the protesters eventually succeeded in temporarily forcing government offices and parliament to close. Several protesters were injured and at least 18 were arrested. Hong Kong's High Court has approved an injunction to clear part of the Admiralty site, though it is unclear if and when authorities will enforce that ruling.

Hong Kong Protest Leaders to Surrender to Police

 

[waltky]

Retreat & regroup...

Hong Kong Occupy founders tell students to retreat amid fears of violence
Tue Dec 2, 2014 - The founders of Hong Kong's Occupy Central civil disobedience movement on Tuesday called on pro-democracy activists to retreat from the city center over fears of violence, just hours after a student leader had called on supporters to regroup.

Protesters on the streets, while united in their calls for full democracy for the Chinese-ruled city, have been split over tactics since the demonstrations started in late September and the movement has lacked a clear leadership. On Monday, thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists forced the temporary closure of government headquarters after clashing with police, defying police orders to pull back. Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, urged the protesters to go home on Tuesday, saying the situation had become dangerous. "The government that uses police batons to maintain its authority is a government that is beyond reason," Tai, one of three leaders of the Occupy movement, told a news conference. "For the sake of the occupier safety and for the sake of the original intention of love and peace, as we prepare to surrender, we three urge students to retreat, to put down deep roots in the community and transform the movement to extend the spirit of the umbrella movement."

Isabella Lo (L-R), Prince Wong and student leader Joshua Wong speak to journalists during their hunger strike outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong

The movement was named after protesters used umbrellas as flimsy shields against police pepper spray and it has become one of the biggest political challenges to face China's Communist Party leadership since it crushed pro-democracy protests in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989. The three Occupy leaders plan said they would surrender to police on Wednesday for their role in gatherings labeled illegal by the government. A few hours earlier student leader Joshua Wong, who announced on Monday he would go on hunger strike to demand electoral reform, urged protesters to regroup in the heart of the city. He also urged the Hong Kong government to resume dialogue with students. Many students and younger leaders say won't they budge, vowing to fight on for full democracy in the global financial hub despite increasingly hardline tactics deployed by police. Wong, who has been charged with obstructing court bailiffs during an operation to clear a protest camp in Mong Kok, across the harbor from Admiralty, is no stranger to protest movements. Two years ago, with the help of secondary school activists calling themselves Scholarism, he forced the Hong Kong government to shelve plans to introduce a pro-China national education scheme in schools.

ENOUGH BLOOD SHED

Protesters who tried ringing government headquarters on Sunday evening were charged by riot police raining truncheon blows and jets of 'pava' spray - a concentrated type of anti-riot liquid - at the heads and bodies of protesters. Scores of activists were injured. "That so many people have shed blood is something we don't want to see," said one of the Occupy leaders Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, whose eyes welled up with tears during the press conference. "I hope everyone taking part in the movement can return home safely."

Protesters, who have occupied key streets for more than two months, have called on the city's embattled leader Leung Chun-ying to step down after Beijing in August ruled out a free choice of candidates for Hong Kong's next leader. Hundreds of tents remain on the streets of Admiralty, next to government headquarters in the center of the city, where students have erected a makeshift village with study areas, supply stations and art displays. Leung said on Monday police had been tolerant but would take "resolute action", suggesting that patience may be running out. At their peak, the Hong Kong rallies drew more than 100,000 on to the streets, but numbers have since dwindled and public support for the movement has waned.

Hong Kong Occupy founders tell students to retreat amid fears of violence | Reuters