HK protesters in offer to withdraw
Print Edition
A NUMBER of protesters have decided to withdraw from areas in Hong Kong as a goodwill gesture for talks with the authorities, while secondary schools affected by the Occupy Central demonstration were due to resume classes today.
Demonstrators outside the Chief Executive鈥檚 Office in Admiralty said they would leave the streets near the government headquarters on their own volition. 鈥淪ome citizens have a negative view on the days of protest. It鈥檚 time for us to leave,鈥 said one student. Some protesters in Mong Kok, a commercial area in Kowloon where 19 were arrested after pro and anti-Occupy people clashed on Friday, also left and joined the rally in Admiralty. They apologized for the disruption of life and businesses caused by their protests.
Traffic in Lung Wo Road temporarily resumed last night after demonstrators removed barricades and shook hands with police officers.
Meanwhile, the city education bureau said that classes of all secondary schools in the Wan Chai and Central and Western districts would resume today.
Classes at kindergartens, primary schools and special schools in the two districts would remain suspended, and the government would closely watch the situation to decide when these classes would resume, the bureau said.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying appeared on television on Saturday evening to urge everyone to go home, saying key roads needed to return to normal by today. He said the government and police had a duty and the determination to take all necessary actions to restore social order so that government and the people of Hong Kong could return to normal work and life.
He said 鈥渢he most urgent thing鈥 was to clear access to government headquarters 鈥渟o 3,000 government staff can go to work normally and serve citizens.鈥
Police spokesman Steve Hui said: 鈥淭o restore order, we are determined and we are confident we have the capability to take any necessary action. We have to make correct assessments, then depending on the prevailing situation, we will consider all necessary measures.鈥
The protests, which the government had declared illegal, brought much of Hong Kong to a standstill during what is traditionally a busy weeklong shopping holiday.
Many residents now want the protests to end or to move elsewhere so that workers, businesses and schools can return to normal.
One man even threatened to jump from an overhead pedestrian walkway, saying he was angry his children鈥檚 schools had been shut by the demonstrations.
The man, who said his surname was Yau, scaled the bridge in the city鈥檚 Admiralty district 鈥 epicenter of the protests 鈥 and berated protesters for five hours, at one point brandishing a knife.
鈥楥lear the road鈥
鈥淕ive the road back to Hong Kong鈥檚 parents so kids can go back to school,鈥 he shouted to crowds assembled below.
鈥淚鈥檓 representing parents asking you when you will clear the road,鈥 he added.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e been out here a whole week. I have three kids who need to go to school and I need to go to work,鈥 he shouted at the crowd.
The walkway links Hong Kong鈥檚 besieged government offices and a shopping center, and allows pedestrians to cross what is ordinarily a busy highway.
For the past week the road has attracted thousands of protesters, who hold rallies, eat and sleep in the area, paralyzing traffic and causing schools to close.
Johnson Cheung, 26, said he supported freedom of expression, but said the protesters were driving away tourists and income for businesses.
Cheung, who works in a duty-free shop, said: 鈥淭he students don鈥檛 need to make a living, their parents pay for them. But we have jobs, we have to live.鈥
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