Scholarism convenor Joshua Wong (L-R), Hong Kong Federation of Students’ Council member Nathan Law, Deputy Secr.-General Lester Shum, Secr.-General Alex Chow, Council member Yvonne Leung, General Secr. Eason Chung attend a news conference after meeting government officials, 21 Oct. 2014.
Last updated on: October 21, 2014 12:36 PM
Hong Kong student protesters expressed disappointment about talks with government officials, saying authorities failed to address their main concerns about the structure of the 2017 elections.
Hong Kong Federation of Students leader Lester Shum said he is shocked the government is still asking the students to accept Beijing’s outline for holding elections.
“I cannot believe that the government still insists on us to accept the deal first, still ask us to follow the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s electoral framework,” Shum said. “The government does not show any courage and sincerity to solve the political problem.”
A protester who only wanted to be identified as Tam took issue with the government delegation in the talks Tuesday.
“[Chief Secretary for Administration] Carrie Lam said that there might be opportunities for change in the future, but she did not say when and did not provide an outline map for that. That’s a meaningless reply,” Tam said.
Called for end to protests
In her opening statement, Lam asked the student leaders to disperse the three-week-old protests, calling them divisive and an impediment to constitutional dialogue.
Alex Chow with the Hong Kong Federation of Students said the protests will not be disbanded unless the government reverses the decision to screen candidates.
Lam, Hong Kong’s No. 2 official, said the territory is not an independent country and cannot decide its own electoral structure.
The talks were broadcast live, a key demand of the protesters, and shown on several giant screens at demonstration sites. Thousands of Hong Kong protesters listened raptly from the streets as the student leaders debated their call for full democracy for the Chinese-run city.
But, as had been widely expected, there was no breakthrough.
Student leaders had yet to decide whether or not to hold a second round.
