Hong Kong Student Protesters
Student activists and government representatives met for the first time since mass protests brokeout across Hong Kong more than three weeks ago. After a weekend of violent clashes between police and protesters, over 2,000 police were called to man three protest sites where the talks were broadcast live and watched by thousands of protesters.
Joshua Wong was arrested 17th October 2014 friday’s night after trespassing in the Hong Kong SAR’s government complex as part of the student protests. Police searched his university dorm room and confiscated several items, including his computer and phone, according to protest organizers. He was released Sunday, police and a student spokes woman said.
After more than three weeks of sit-in protests in Asia’s most important financial center, student leaders engaged Hong Kong government officials in a scholarly and civil televised debate on Tuesday about the future of democracy in the city.
A panel of student leaders in black T-shirts sparred politely with government officials wearing suits and ties, with both sides citing articles of Hong Kong’s city charter, the Basic Law, to backup their points.
Carrie Lam, the second-highest ranking official in the city, told the students that the government was willing to submit a new report to the national government in Beijing that would take into account their views on how to conduct the 2017 municipal election. Strict guidelines issued by the Communist Party-controlled national legislature in Beijing sparked the protests.
Mr Leung said problems such as the lack of social mobility and unaffordable housing were “not acceptable”, and the government needed to do more to solve them.He pointed to the fact that his own appointment in 2012 had to be endorsed by a 1,200-member committee which was made up of people from various sectors of society and professions.
Mr. Leung madeclear in an interview on Monday that government representatives would not be negotiating with the students. Rather, he said, they would listen to what the students had to say and would explain to them how Hong Kong’s political process works, emphasizing that the city’s voters would lose their chance to elect his succes so rif the city did not go along with the guidelines from Beijing. Students and other protesters watching the debate on large projection screens at the main sit-in protest site in central Hong Kong said they were happy that the government was at least willing to talk.
Burak Dimli
Akdeniz University
Erişim 21.10.2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/22/world/asia/hong-kong-student-protesters-and-city-leaders-meet-to-discuss-democracy.html?ref=world
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/21/world/asia/hong-kong-joshua-wong-democracy-protest/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29700156
