Asia-Pacific

HK demonstrators to decide next move: Protest leader

388838_Hong-Kong

Anti-election law protesters in Hong Kong are deciding whether to end their months-long demonstrations or take a different approach to achieve their objectives.

On Friday, Yvonne Leung, a leader of the Hong Kong Federation of Students said that the group would make its decision within one week.

“We’ve tried both the soft and hard way, we’ve negotiated with them, and we’ve tried to blockade the government headquarters,” Leung said. “But the government has been unwavering, so we have to make a decision.”

Meanwhile, one of the founders of the “Occupy Central” movement, Benny Tai, called on protesters to leave their camps they have been staying at and “block government,” instead, saying this “may be even more powerful than blocking roads.”

“Refusal to pay taxes, delaying rent payments by tenants in public housing … along with other such acts of non cooperation, could make governing more inconvenient,” Tai added.

Police forces are expected to clear areas of Admiralty district of protesters who have been occupying the area over the past few weeks.

Demonstrators launched a campaign of occupying government buildings in Hong Kong on September 27 in protest against an election law which obligates the people of Hong Kong to elect their next leader from a list of Beijing-vetted candidates in 2017.

The protesters demand that the Hong Kong government abandon plans to allow China to monitor nominations for the city’s next chief executive.

Although China has said it will introduce universal suffrage for the 2017 Hong Kong election, protests continue.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. The financial hub has enjoyed substantial political autonomy since 1997, when its leadership returned to China after about a century of British colonial rule.

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