Democratic lawmakers and protest leaders to start ‘new wave of civil disobedience’ tonight
By Laurel Chor October 10, 2014 / 17:51 HKT
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The leaders of the movement holding signs that say "We are determined to fight for real universal suffrage".
The leaders of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement will be holding a rally tonight from 7:30pm in newly-renamed "Umbrella Square" [Admiralty] after calling on protestors to unite in another wave of civil disobedience.
Student activist Joshua Wong told a gathering this afternoon that "the government is trying to deny the dialogue", by cancelling the meetingwith protestors planned for today, and that "rescheduling rests on the shoulders of the government". He added that, "only through gathering more people does it show the government our power", and that until "the government gives a concrete reason, the protests will continue".
Late yesterday afternoon, chief secretary Carrie Lam called off talks between the government and Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) planned for today, seemingly due to comments made by Alex Chow, the leader of HKFS, at a press conference earlier in the day.
Specifically, pan-democratic members of LegCo, the founders of the Occupy Central movement, and leaders of student groups Scholarism and HKFS presented a united front on Thursday as they proclaimed “more methods… of civil disobedience” if the government did not respond to their demands. Among those present were Benny Tai, Joshua Wong, Lester Shum, Leung Kwok-hung (a.k.a. Long Hair) and Alan Leong.
Chow said that, “without a just explanation and concrete ideas of how to settle the current dispute, Hong Kong people will not retreat”. He added that they hoped the government would respond to local citizens, as “otherwise they cannot rule Hong Kong in the long run”.
Alan Leong, a local lawmaker, declared that pan-democratic LegCo members would use the leverage of their positions in the LegCo’s Financial Committee, the Public Works Subcommittee, and the Establishment Subcommittee (which are under the Financial Committee) to “block government applications for financial provisions”, except those deemed urgent and essential. Leong also said that some lawmakers were actively gathering evidence to draft a motion to impeach CY Leung.
At the end of the press conference, Tai jubilantly declared that the Admiralty protest site would now be named “Umbrella Square!”.
Ah well, more protests it is.
Photo: Laurel Chor/Coconuts Media
http://hongkong.coconuts.co/2014/10/10/democratic-lawmakers-occupy-central-and-student-activists-announce-new-wave-civil
