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Hong Kong protests appear to be headed into a smaller but durable holding pattern | Hong Kong protests appear to be headed into a smaller but durable holding pattern |
(about 3 hours later) | |
HONG KONG — A week of tumultuous pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong shifted into a stalemate atmosphere Monday as the ranks of demonstrators thinned and some workers returned to offices previously barricaded by the protesters. Security forces stayed back even after a deadline for protesters to clear the streets. | |
The main occupation sites were intact, but anxiety and disagreements were evident among protesters: whether to keep the widespread demonstrations or consolidate their forces at the main encampment in front of government headquarters. | |
Meanwhile, it appeared that authorities might tolerate a reduced protest as long as key buildings are not blocked. | |
In one tension-easing concession, civil servants working at Hong Kong’s main government building were allowed to enter the complex. A thin pathway was cleared by the demonstrators, whose numbers were just a fraction of the tens of thousands in previous days. | |
The apparent cooling of the showdown — at least for the moment — was welcomed by traders in one of Asia’s financial hubs. Hong Kong’s stock market closed with its biggest daily gain in more than a month. The Hang Seng index finished up 1.1 percent, the best one-day rise since Sept. 3. | |
But the essence of the unrest remains unresolved. | |
Protesters are seeking greater political autonomy from Beijing, including having Chinese authorities reverse a decision to vet Hong Kong candidates in 2017 elections. Officials have offered talks on possible political reforms, but seem unwilling to bend to the protesters’ demands. | |
The Chinese government — which took control of the former British colony in 1997 — fears yielding ground in Hong Kong could inspire dissent elsewhere. | |
The current stalemate, if it lasts, provides some breathing room for both sides after days of threats, scuffles and brinksmanship that threatened to escalate the tensions and violence. Although the protest crowds are likely to dwindle, a core group of protesters has vowed to remain. | |
Such an occupation could also turn more public sentiment against the students’ cause. And, at the same time, it would bring into question how long Beijing would tolerate such public defiance of its authority. | |
On Sunday, Hong Kong’s leader, Leung Chun-ying, said he would take “all actions necessary” to make sure government workers could return to work, which some saw as an ultimatum for protesters to get off the street or risk facing a police sweep. | |
The warning only forced some protesters to dig in. Nicholas Chan, 25, said he rushed to the occupation outside the main government office as soon as he heard some protesters were walking away or retreating to other sites, viewing them as safer locations. | |
“I’m here because I want to see for myself just how far police will go if all we do is sit here peacefully,” Chan said. | “I’m here because I want to see for myself just how far police will go if all we do is sit here peacefully,” Chan said. |
Student leaders said they had preliminary discussions with government officials over to offer for talks with Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s highest-ranking civil servant. But they said there were many disagreements as well. | |
At another protest site in Mong Kok, a working-class neighborhood, attackers, including some suspected of being members of criminal gangs known as triads, had assaulted largely peaceful protesters in recent days. In response to the violence, some called for a retreat to the main protest site outside government headquarters. | |
Throughout the protest sites, many brace for a crackdown that had yet to come. For hours, a group of young men, manning barricades on a street named Justice Drive, scrutinized passing cars and the nearby police headquarters for signs of trouble. | |
Complete strangers before the protest, they had created a group account in recent nights on social media to assign shifts on the barricade. They had given their group a Cantonese name that translated roughly as “Those Willing to Die for the Barricade on Justice Drive.” | Complete strangers before the protest, they had created a group account in recent nights on social media to assign shifts on the barricade. They had given their group a Cantonese name that translated roughly as “Those Willing to Die for the Barricade on Justice Drive.” |
“We don’t plan to fight or do anything to provoke the police, but if they come, we must be vigilant so we can warn everyone else,” said one who gave only his surname, Liu, for fear his nighttime activities would be frowned upon at work. | “We don’t plan to fight or do anything to provoke the police, but if they come, we must be vigilant so we can warn everyone else,” said one who gave only his surname, Liu, for fear his nighttime activities would be frowned upon at work. |
A gaggle of students played cards on the main occupied road near government headquarters. Not far away, a local artist named Milk unveiled a tall statue made of wood tiles of a man holding an umbrella, one of the symbols of the protest movement, | |
Terrence Tsui, one of the card players, insisted the occupation could go on indefinitely. “Look at us, you think we’ll leave? The police know they can’t take us all.” | |
By the gates of the Hong Kong chief executive’s office, dozens of protesters camped out, also showing no inclination to leave. “I don’t trust anything this government says,” said Kennedy Fong, a gas-mask-wearing demonstrator. “The only power we have is to stay here.” | |
A host of university presidents and high school principals appealed during the weekend for students to withdraw. “Please leave now. You owe it to your loved ones to put your safety above all other considerations,” said Peter Mathieson, president of Hong Kong University. | A host of university presidents and high school principals appealed during the weekend for students to withdraw. “Please leave now. You owe it to your loved ones to put your safety above all other considerations,” said Peter Mathieson, president of Hong Kong University. |
But Sunday night, a group of more than 80 professors made a counterargument, saying the answer to the ongoing crisis should be the government listening to the students, rather than the students leaving under the threat of force. | But Sunday night, a group of more than 80 professors made a counterargument, saying the answer to the ongoing crisis should be the government listening to the students, rather than the students leaving under the threat of force. |