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| Hong Kong protests dwindle amid downpour, government resolve | Hong Kong protests dwindle amid downpour, government resolve |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| HONG KONG — The number of pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong shrunk dramatically Friday amidst a torrential downpour and the Hong Kong chief executive’s announcement that his government was willing to talk with the protesters, but that he had no intention of quitting. | |
| Opponents of the protests took advantage of the lower numbers and the rain, trying to take down barricades, tents and other infrastructure at several protest sites in the city. | Opponents of the protests took advantage of the lower numbers and the rain, trying to take down barricades, tents and other infrastructure at several protest sites in the city. |
| Scuffles erupted between protesters and opponents trying to remove barriers as the tide seemed to turn against the demonstrators. | Scuffles erupted between protesters and opponents trying to remove barriers as the tide seemed to turn against the demonstrators. |
| Friday was the first day many Hong Kong residents returned to work after a two-day holiday although the central government closed its offices, telling workers to work from home. | |
| The most dramatic incidents took place in Mong Kok, on the other side of the harbor from the Central business district. Opponents of the student occupation converged on the protest site in the early afternoon and started taking down tents and removing barricades. There were reports on social media of roaming mobs scuffling with pro-democracy demonstrators. | |
| By late afternoon, the student demonstrators were hemmed in on all sides by counter-protesters, who were kept back only by a thin cordon of police, who attempted to separate the protesters from their opponents by holding hands and forming a human chain. Two buses which had been parked by the protest site since the occupation began earlier in the week, adorned with pro-democracy banners, were driven away to the applause of the anti-occupy crowds. | |
| Questions abound over the nature of the counter-protests, which pro-democracy activists claim are rent-a-mobs mobilized by pro-Beijing factions in the city, according to local media. Earlier in the day, a handful of residents in the popular shopping district of Causeway Bay turned on the student occupation there, shouting at the protesters that they were impeding the daily lives of locals. | |
| The divisiveness and rancor on view Friday raised doubts over the sustainability of the protests going forward. | |
| China said Friday in a front-page editorial in the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, that it fully trusted Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying and that the protests were “doomed to failure." | |
| Student demonstrators were negotiating when and where to meet with the government’s envoy. Also under negotiation is whether the meeting will be public, as the students are demanding, or closed. | Student demonstrators were negotiating when and where to meet with the government’s envoy. Also under negotiation is whether the meeting will be public, as the students are demanding, or closed. |
| Leung told a late-night news conference Thursday that his government was willing to talk with the protesters but that he would not be resigning his post, a key demand of the protesters. | Leung told a late-night news conference Thursday that his government was willing to talk with the protesters but that he would not be resigning his post, a key demand of the protesters. |
| It was a tough signal, reflecting Beijing’s unyielding stance in the face of pro-democracy protests that have roiled Hong Kong, Asia’s premier business destination, all week. The promise to hold talks, however limited they may be in scope, appeared to be enough to blunt the protest leaders’ determination to act. | It was a tough signal, reflecting Beijing’s unyielding stance in the face of pro-democracy protests that have roiled Hong Kong, Asia’s premier business destination, all week. The promise to hold talks, however limited they may be in scope, appeared to be enough to blunt the protest leaders’ determination to act. |
| Emily Lau, a pro-democracy legislator, said that the protesters were disappointed Leung would not be resigning. | Emily Lau, a pro-democracy legislator, said that the protesters were disappointed Leung would not be resigning. |
| But “it is okay for the time being to see the administration agreeing to have talks with the students,” she told the British Broadcasting Corporation, in what appeared to be a softening a position among the demonstrators. | But “it is okay for the time being to see the administration agreeing to have talks with the students,” she told the British Broadcasting Corporation, in what appeared to be a softening a position among the demonstrators. |
| The protesters had threatened to occupy government buildings if Leung refused to step down by midnight Thursday. | The protesters had threatened to occupy government buildings if Leung refused to step down by midnight Thursday. |
| But disagreement among themselves about what to do next and a show of force by police refrained them from escalating the conflict. Scuffles erupted between protesters early Friday on how to proceed and whether to occupy another road nearby. They scuffled over a plan to block traffic on one of the only main roads still connecting Hong Kong’s Central business district, a key business hub, to areas further east on the island. | But disagreement among themselves about what to do next and a show of force by police refrained them from escalating the conflict. Scuffles erupted between protesters early Friday on how to proceed and whether to occupy another road nearby. They scuffled over a plan to block traffic on one of the only main roads still connecting Hong Kong’s Central business district, a key business hub, to areas further east on the island. |
| Hong Kong shares sank to a four-and-a-half month low on Friday, the Hang Seng index its lowest since May 21, with investors unloading stock amid the continued civil unrest in the city. | Hong Kong shares sank to a four-and-a-half month low on Friday, the Hang Seng index its lowest since May 21, with investors unloading stock amid the continued civil unrest in the city. |
| Beijing’s uncompromising stance is driven in part by fears that successful protests in Hong Kong could inspire dissent to bubble up elsewhere in China. | Beijing’s uncompromising stance is driven in part by fears that successful protests in Hong Kong could inspire dissent to bubble up elsewhere in China. |
| “Beijing is not going to lose,” Jeff Bader, the former top White House official for East Asia, said in an interview. “They’re just not willing to, and they have the power to make that stick.” | “Beijing is not going to lose,” Jeff Bader, the former top White House official for East Asia, said in an interview. “They’re just not willing to, and they have the power to make that stick.” |
| The police, in what may have been an attempt at intimidation, brought in riot gear and vowed to stop any attempt to occupy buildings. Shortly before dusk, a swarm of officers pushed their way through crowds to the besieged government headquarters at the heart of Hong Kong’s protest. Anger and fear rippled through the crowds as they realized that police were transporting what appeared to be boxes of rubber bullets and tear gas. | The police, in what may have been an attempt at intimidation, brought in riot gear and vowed to stop any attempt to occupy buildings. Shortly before dusk, a swarm of officers pushed their way through crowds to the besieged government headquarters at the heart of Hong Kong’s protest. Anger and fear rippled through the crowds as they realized that police were transporting what appeared to be boxes of rubber bullets and tear gas. |
| Yet the reaction may not have been what the authorities anticipated. | Yet the reaction may not have been what the authorities anticipated. |
| As word spread online of a possible crackdown, jam-packed crowds returned by the hundreds to the protest site, where attendance had been waning over the past day. Many began donning goggles and masks in case police deployed tear gas as they had earlier this week. Volunteers rushed in trolleys full of water, food, umbrellas and masks. | As word spread online of a possible crackdown, jam-packed crowds returned by the hundreds to the protest site, where attendance had been waning over the past day. Many began donning goggles and masks in case police deployed tear gas as they had earlier this week. Volunteers rushed in trolleys full of water, food, umbrellas and masks. |
| Nonetheless, student organizers started backing down from their threat to occupy more buildings, telling the crowd to avoid provoking police action. | Nonetheless, student organizers started backing down from their threat to occupy more buildings, telling the crowd to avoid provoking police action. |
| But by that point, in any case, what had begun as outrage against plans by Chinese authorities to vet Hong Kong election candidates had broadened into a collision of two sharply differing visions for the former British colony. | But by that point, in any case, what had begun as outrage against plans by Chinese authorities to vet Hong Kong election candidates had broadened into a collision of two sharply differing visions for the former British colony. |
| Protesters say they want the semi-autonomous status China promised residents when it took over Hong Kong in 1997. Leaders in Beijing have made clear that they will not give up their grip on Hong Kong’s leaders and the way they are chosen. | Protesters say they want the semi-autonomous status China promised residents when it took over Hong Kong in 1997. Leaders in Beijing have made clear that they will not give up their grip on Hong Kong’s leaders and the way they are chosen. |
| Leung’s 11th-hour declaration, with the promise of talks, eased the tension, and there was no confrontation. | Leung’s 11th-hour declaration, with the promise of talks, eased the tension, and there was no confrontation. |
| At the news briefing, Leung said, “I will not resign because I have to continue my work on electoral reform.” | At the news briefing, Leung said, “I will not resign because I have to continue my work on electoral reform.” |
| He announced that he was sending Carrie Lam, his government’s second-highest-ranking official, to talk with students about constitutional reform. But he also said that there would be no compromise on Beijing’s recently announced election rules, which essentially give China’s leaders the power to choose all candidates in the 2017 election. | He announced that he was sending Carrie Lam, his government’s second-highest-ranking official, to talk with students about constitutional reform. But he also said that there would be no compromise on Beijing’s recently announced election rules, which essentially give China’s leaders the power to choose all candidates in the 2017 election. |
| Changing those rules, however, is the whole point of the protests. | Changing those rules, however, is the whole point of the protests. |
| “All he’s doing is trying to buy time,” said C.K. Wong, 22, a student protester who has spent the past week occupying streets east of the protest site. “No one is fooled by his proposed meeting.” | “All he’s doing is trying to buy time,” said C.K. Wong, 22, a student protester who has spent the past week occupying streets east of the protest site. “No one is fooled by his proposed meeting.” |
| Students also called for the meeting to be open to the public — a detail the government said Thursday still needs to be negotiated. | Students also called for the meeting to be open to the public — a detail the government said Thursday still needs to be negotiated. |
| Time is on Leung’s side. As the demonstrations have dragged on, increasing signs of dissension have emerged among protesters. On Thursday night in Admiralty, site of the main occupation, some called for the occupiers in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok to quit their posts and consolidate their numbers in one spot. The following day, protesters made frantic calls for reinforcements to Mong Kok as the anti-occupy assault began. | |
| Not all protesters agreed with the students' threat by some to occupy more buildings. Some still insist that Leung must resign. Others argue that Beijing would replace him with another puppet leader and that the protest should focus on electoral reforms. | |
| Daniela Deane reported from Rome. Xu Jing in Beijing contributed to this report. | Daniela Deane reported from Rome. Xu Jing in Beijing contributed to this report. |