This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/hong-kong-police-try-and-fail-to-clear-protesters-with-tear-gas/2014/09/28/442d4918-4714-11e4-b72e-d60a9229cc10_story.html?wprss=rss_world
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong police try and fail to clear protesters with tear gas | Hong Kong police try and fail to clear protesters with tear gas |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| BEIJING — Hong Kong police deployed tear gas to try to disperse thousands of pro-democracy protesters outside government offices Sunday, yielding scenes of unusual chaos in the Asian financial hub. | BEIJING — Hong Kong police deployed tear gas to try to disperse thousands of pro-democracy protesters outside government offices Sunday, yielding scenes of unusual chaos in the Asian financial hub. |
| The confrontation marked the latest escalation between demonstrators and authorities in Hong Kong, as well as the territory’s ultimate rulers in Beijing. | The confrontation marked the latest escalation between demonstrators and authorities in Hong Kong, as well as the territory’s ultimate rulers in Beijing. |
| In recent weeks, the democracy movement had appeared to be flagging after a summer of simmering dissent. But this past week, a boycott launched by students galvanized the cause over the weekend and prompted thousands to join the students’ nonviolent siege of Hong Kong’s government headquarters. | In recent weeks, the democracy movement had appeared to be flagging after a summer of simmering dissent. But this past week, a boycott launched by students galvanized the cause over the weekend and prompted thousands to join the students’ nonviolent siege of Hong Kong’s government headquarters. |
| On Sunday, officers in riot gear charged at protesters with batons in an attempt to drive them away. Police also lobbed tear gas into the crowds and used pepper spray. Many demonstrators, however, had come prepared with masks, goggles and umbrellas. | |
| Early Monday, Hong Kong’s top leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who is supported by Beijing, exhorted the protesters to go home. “We don’t want Hong Kong to be messy,” Leung said in a statement he read on television, the Associated Press reported. | |
| Some protesters pulled back, but others began occupying other parts of downtown, according to the AP. | |
| Driving the confrontation is a ruling last month by Beijing that essentially allows its Communist leaders to weed out any candidates not loyal to the party. | Driving the confrontation is a ruling last month by Beijing that essentially allows its Communist leaders to weed out any candidates not loyal to the party. |
| The move has angered many in Hong Kong who see it as a violation of Beijing’s promise — dating to 1997, when Britain handed control of territory back to China — to allow residents universal suffrage by 2017. | The move has angered many in Hong Kong who see it as a violation of Beijing’s promise — dating to 1997, when Britain handed control of territory back to China — to allow residents universal suffrage by 2017. |
| On Sunday, China’s government condemned the latest protest through an unnamed spokesman who was quoted in the state-run Xinhua News Agency as calling protesters’ actions an “unlawful occupation” of government offices. | On Sunday, China’s government condemned the latest protest through an unnamed spokesman who was quoted in the state-run Xinhua News Agency as calling protesters’ actions an “unlawful occupation” of government offices. |
| The continuing protests present a conundrum for China. All summer long, its leaders have sought to calibrate their response to Hong Kong’s democracy movement. Too hard a response could drive more residents to support the cause, but too soft a response could allow the movement to grow. | The continuing protests present a conundrum for China. All summer long, its leaders have sought to calibrate their response to Hong Kong’s democracy movement. Too hard a response could drive more residents to support the cause, but too soft a response could allow the movement to grow. |
| Beijing’s August ruling, which would essentially keep the 2017 election firmly under party control, seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the organization driving much of the protest — Occupy Central with Love and Peace. | Beijing’s August ruling, which would essentially keep the 2017 election firmly under party control, seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the organization driving much of the protest — Occupy Central with Love and Peace. |
| Occupy Central’s leaders had famously threatened to shut down the financial district with protests if Beijing did not grant authentic universal suffrage. But after Beijing issued its ruling, some feared that following through on the threat could turned undecided residents against the movement. Such a sit-in, critics argued, would jeopardize business — Hong Kong’s lifeblood. | Occupy Central’s leaders had famously threatened to shut down the financial district with protests if Beijing did not grant authentic universal suffrage. But after Beijing issued its ruling, some feared that following through on the threat could turned undecided residents against the movement. Such a sit-in, critics argued, would jeopardize business — Hong Kong’s lifeblood. |
| Early Sunday, after the student boycott had gained momentum, Occupy Central leaders declared that they were now officially joining in. Instead of their original idea of occupying the financial district, they would join the students already camped out in front of Hong Kong’s government headquarters. | |
| Xu Jing contributed to this report. | Xu Jing contributed to this report. |