Demonstrators pictured outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on June 14, 2014.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
In a move that’s sparked fury, Hong Kong’s government appears to be shutting its gates.
On Thursday, following large protests that have rocked the Chinese financial capital, authorities announced that a three-meter high fence would be installed to protect the city’s central government office from protesters. The barriers, the government said, would be permanent.

Political tensions in the former British colony have run high all summer, as the fight for more democracy in the city has gained steam. Over the past month, the 1,000-square-meter courtyard in front of government headquarters has been occupied at least three times. One of the protests turned violent after group of demonstrators gathered there attempted to break into the Legislative Council, a move that the government said had prompted the new security measures. The area will be closed until the end of August for construction.
Critics have ridiculed the decision, citing comments made by former Chief Executive Donald Tsang in 2011, when the government’s headquarters had just been completed. “The project has adopted the ‘door always open’ concept in its design,”he said of the building. “It is… a reminder for us to always be open-minded, proactive and receptive to public opinions.”
The to-be-fenced area was dubbed ‘Civic Square’ by high school student group Scholarism after they used it as a staging ground for a series of successful protests against the creation of mandatory “patriotic” classes in 2012. The group’s convenor, 17 year-old Joshua Wong, condemned the action on Friday.
“The government and [Chief Executive] C.Y. Leung would like to separate people by having barriers and walls block roads and eliminate the right of people to walk into Civic Square,” he told China Real Time. “It doesn’t matter if we are peaceful or nonviolent, the government is using unnecessary action to block our right to assembly.”
After construction is completed, the government said, protesters will still be able to gather on Sundays and holidays if they apply for permission. “The government fully respects the freedom of expression and the right of peaceful assembly,” it said in a press release. “Recent public order events that took place at the LegCo Complex illustrate the need to have appropriate security measures.” When it reopens, the area will have new hours, closing every night from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m 
Alex Chow, secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, the city’s largest student union, called the decision “a bit ridiculous and ironic,” citing the building’s highly-touted “open door” design. His student group, which is agitating for more democracy in the city, has called for civil disobedience next month involving occupying major government buildings, including possibly the central government headquarters. “I believe the hidden agenda is also to avoid any civil disobedience occurring around there,” he told China Real Time, adding, “a strengthened fence would not help… strengthen the [government’s] credibility.”
– Edward Ngai