This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/world/asia/hong-kong-occupy-protests.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Last of Hong Kong Protesters Pack Up and Wait for the Police Workers Begin Dismantling Main Hong Kong Protest Camp
(about 2 hours later)
HONG KONG — Protesters who have encircled the political heart of Hong Kong for more than 10 weeks steeled themselves early  Thursday for the police to close in and try to dismantle their camp, effectively ending the pro-democracy street occupations that have laid bare divisions over the city’s political future. HONG KONG —  The police stood guard on Thursday as workers began tearing down barricades erected by protesters who have encircled the political heart of Hong Kong for more than 10 weeks, starting an operation to effectively end the pro-democracy street occupations that have laid bare divisions over the city’s political future.
After a night when thousands gathered to give a defiant and tearful farewell to the pro-democracy camp in the Admiralty neighborhood, next to the city government offices, many of the protesters busied themselves packing tents and other equipment before the police were to start clearing them out. Dozens of police and court bailiffs watched as the workers dismantled road barriers built from metal railings by demonstrators to protect their street camp in Admiralty, next to the city government offices.
Some protesters vowed to stay and accept arrest, as a show of resistance to the government, which has refused to offer concessions on how the city’s leader is elected. But most who stayed overnight in Admiralty, for nightlong celebrations and farewells, appeared resigned to retreating. There were no signs of resistance, but this was just the start of a painstaking police operation to clear the entire camp.
“We’ve been here for two months, more than two months, and it’s time to move on,” said Koby Chan, a sales representative in his 20s who was among a group of protesters packing to leave the area that the police have said would be cleared first, in enforcement of a court injunction. “We’ll stop now, but that doesn’t mean we’re giving up. We’ll be back for sure.” “So far, so good,” said Paul Tse, a pro-government lawyer and lawmaker who represented the school bus company that won a court injunction to clear part of the Admiralty protest site. “This is just the easy part,” he added.
That area of the camp was largely empty on Thursday at dawn. “It’s just the beginning,” declared a banner that had gone up over a barricade. The injunction applied to only a small part of the protest site, and after clearing that area, the police planned to move on and clear the entire street camp — a jumble of tents and art that even had its own classroom.
 Attendance has been shrinking on the streets of Admiralty, reduced by exhaustion, cold and disappointment. But thousands returned on Wednesday night to see the camp, representing one of the largest turnouts since the early days of the movement. After a night when thousands gathered to give a defiant and tearful farewell to the pro-democracy camp, many of the demonstrators busied themselves packing tents and other equipment before the police were to start clearing them out later in the day.
Families lined up to collect bracelets and other mementos made by volunteers; other people took pictures of themselves and the posters and art that have covered the camp. Many signed banners demanding democracy and left sticky notes on what is called the Lennon Wall, a side of a government building facing the camp that is covered in the notes. Some protesters vowed to stay and accept arrest as a show of resistance to the government, which has refused to offer concessions on how the city’s leader is elected. Yet most who stayed overnight in Admiralty, for nightlong celebrations and farewells, appeared resigned to a retreat.
Even before dawn broke on Thursday, the camp bustled with life. Groups packed tents, preparing to leave, although hundreds of tents remained, as many demonstrators were still asleep.  “We’ve been here for two months, more than two months, and it’s time to move on,” said Koby Chan, a sales representative in his 20s who was among a group of protesters packing to leave the area that the police have said would be cleared first, in enforcement of a court injunction. “We’ll stop now, but that doesn’t mean we’re giving up. We’ll be back for sure.”
The area of the camp that the police have said they will clear first was largely empty on Thursday morning.  “It’s just the beginning,” declared a banner that had gone up over a barricade.
 Attendance had been shrinking on the streets of Admiralty, reduced by exhaustion, cold and disappointment. But thousands returned on Wednesday night to see the camp, representing one of the largest turnouts since the early days of the movement.
Families lined up to collect bracelets and other mementos made by volunteers; other people took pictures of themselves and the posters and art that have covered the camp. Many signed banners demanding democracy and left sticky notes on what is  called the Lennon Wall, a side of a government building facing the camp that is covered in the notes.
Even before dawn broke on Thursday, the main camp bustled. Groups packed tents, preparing to leave, although hundreds of tents remained, as many demonstrators were still asleep.
Charlotte Chan, a 19-year-old nursing student, reclined on a sofa that had been used to block an escalator leading to the government offices, and she said that even those who wanted to keep up the demonstrations could see that they lacked support.Charlotte Chan, a 19-year-old nursing student, reclined on a sofa that had been used to block an escalator leading to the government offices, and she said that even those who wanted to keep up the demonstrations could see that they lacked support.
“I’m angry, because the protest has been for two months, and I think we should go on,” she said. “But most want to go, so it’s time to accept that. It’s time to leave, even if we don’t want to go.” “It’s time to leave, even if we don’t want to go,” she said.
Whatever happens, the protests have exposed and widened political fissures, Hong Kong residents say. The government and its supporters have accused the protesters of reckless naïveté and of assisting in Western-sponsored subversion. Many protesters have said the Chinese government’s plans for election changes in the city would give Beijing the power to choose winners.Whatever happens, the protests have exposed and widened political fissures, Hong Kong residents say. The government and its supporters have accused the protesters of reckless naïveté and of assisting in Western-sponsored subversion. Many protesters have said the Chinese government’s plans for election changes in the city would give Beijing the power to choose winners.
 “The protest culture has changed,” said Alex Chow, a leader of the Hong Kong Federation of students, which has been at the forefront of the protests. “The point is that the clearance will not solve the social problems.”
He as well as dozens of pro-democracy politicians and student leaders gathered for a show of unity. Many said they would stay in Admiralty until the police moved in to arrest them.
“We shall not resist nor retaliate,” said Mr. Chow, the student leader, told the crowd as he stood over them on a ladder. “This is not a show of weakness or giving in, but doing this will give the police no reason to use excessive force on the protesters.”
At supply stations for the protesters, volunteers packed away safety masks, goggles and helmets stockpiled for possible confrontations with the police. Student leaders have said they do not want a repeat of the violence that erupted after the police demolished the other main protest camp, in the Mong Kok neighborhood, on Nov. 25.At supply stations for the protesters, volunteers packed away safety masks, goggles and helmets stockpiled for possible confrontations with the police. Student leaders have said they do not want a repeat of the violence that erupted after the police demolished the other main protest camp, in the Mong Kok neighborhood, on Nov. 25.
But in recent weeks, the protesters have become increasingly split between those who favor peaceful resistance and a minority who argue that only escalating the protests, and risking confrontation, can win concessions. A few have vowed to resist the police in Admiralty, said Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, a pro-democracy member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, who has sought to defuse confrontations during the protests. Yet in recent weeks, the protesters have become increasingly split between those who favor peaceful resistance and a minority who argue that only escalating the protests, and risking confrontation, can win concessions.
“If you have one incident, or one person triggering the offensive from our side, the police could respond with tens or hundreds of times” more force, he said in an interview on Tuesday. A few have vowed to resist the police in Admiralty, said Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, a pro-democracy member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, who has sought to defuse confrontations during the protests.
The Admiralty protest camp sprang up on Sept. 28, when thousands of protesters seized the streets after a bungled police effort to disperse students with tear gas and pepper spray. The police hope that a tightly choreographed operation to clear it will avoid such misfires. The Admiralty protest camp sprang up on Sept. 28, when thousands of protesters seized the streets after a bungled police effort to disperse students with tear gas and pepper spray. The police hope that a tightly choreographed operation to clear it will avoid such misfires.
The operation will proceed in steps, beginning with the clearance of an area covered by a court injunction, said a police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. At a brief press conference as the initial clearance operation began, Kwok Pak-chung, a police senior superintendent, urged protesters to leave peacefully. Alan Leong, a prominent lawyer and a leader of the pro-democratic Civic Party said in an interview that he planned to stay and face arrest. “Usually I would serve only my clients in the cell, but this time round I would be in the cell myself,” he said.
After that, the police will move on to the main camp, first warning people to leave, then sealing off the area so no one can enter, and then removing protesters and their tents. The effort could take much of the day, if not longer, and the police are prepared to make many arrests, the official said. Already, 655 people have been arrested since the protests began, he said.
A half-dozen young men wearing scarves or surgical masks to cover their faces were reinforcing some of the barricades before dawn on Thursday.
But the masked men, who refused to give their names because of the impending police action, said that they did not plan to fight the police. “We will let the students get away first, and then we’ll wait until the last minute” before leaving as well, one of them said.
Carrie Lam, the chief secretary of the Hong Kong government and its second-ranking official, said on Wednesday that 3,000 government employees near Admiralty would not go to work on Thursday, and she urged people to stay away.
But Steve Vickers, a senior Hong Kong police official before the British handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, predicted that resistance would be limited. “There will be a small, very hard core who will resist,” Mr. Vickers said. “The bulk of them will probably melt away after some screaming and shouting.”