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Three Hong Kong protesters go on ‘indefinite’ hunger strike

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Three anti-election law protesters in Hong Kong have gone on an indefinite hunger strike in an attempt to force the government to respond to their demands.

“We, Scholarism, announce that now I, Joshua Wong, Wong Tsz-yuet and Lo Yin-wai, the three representatives [of the student group Scholarism], will go on an indefinite hunger strike,” protest leader, Wong, stated during an event at the main protest camp in the Admiralty district on Monday.

The protesters are calling on Hong Kong authorities to reopen talks with students.

“Living in these troubled times, there is a duty. Today we are willing to pay the price, we are willing to take the responsibility,” Wong said.

The trio will consume only water during the strike, a local television station reported.

On Monday, a court in Hong Kong granted an injunction that would pave the way for authorities to clear some parts of the main protest site in the Admiralty area.

The government in Beijing says candidates for the 2017 election of the chief executive of Hong Kong must be vetted by a loyalist committee.

Hong Kong protesters argue that such a move means that the next governing body in Hong Kong would eventually become pro-Beijing.

The demonstrators have been calling on Beijing to withdraw the decision on the election law, but the Chinese government does not appear to budge.

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