Hong Kong
(CNN) --
Pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong are clinging on to their protest sites
in key areas of the tightly packed city, but their numbers are waning along
with the patience of some of their fellow citizens.
"At
first, I supported them, but then I started to think they are being selfish
because they block the roads -- and that's wrong," said Virginia Lai, who has sold newspapers from a
stall in the busy district of Mong Kok for 45 years.
Lai says
her business is down 30% and getting worse. The student-led demonstrators are
camped out at a major intersection in the neighborhood, which witnessed violent
clashes between protesters and their opponents over the weekend.
A CNN team
at the main protest point in the Admiralty area also witnessed friction Tuesday
night as a handful of protesters wearing blue ribbons -- indicating an
anti-Occupy stance -- were mobbed by hundreds of Occupy student protesters.
The
protesters have blocked several main highways in the city for more than a week
as they seek to change a decision by China's ruling
Communist Party
on how the next election for Hong Kong's top leader will work.
At their
peak, the demonstrations brought tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents
together in spectacular fashion, covering large areas of the semiautonomous
territory's central business district in a sea of people.
'Disrupting
my life'
But that
was last week, when two back-to-back public holidays put work and classes on
hold for a lot of people.
As
activity has cranked back up in the financial and commercial hub in recent
days, crowds at the protest sites have thinned significantly and signs of
discontent among other residents have spread.
"I am
very angry because this movement is disrupting my life," said Polly Lau,
an elderly woman who has lived in Mong Kok all her life. "I think there
will be a rebellion actually, a rebellion of the other 7 million people in Hong
Kong against them."
The
protests have blocked bus and tram routes, worsening traffic and putting more
strain on the city's rail network. Some businesses, offices and schools have
closed temporarily.
In
Tuesday's altercation in Admiralty, a known pro-Beijing activist, Lee See Yin,
attempted to address crowds from street level through a megaphone and was
surrounded by an angry crowd of hundreds of student protesters who began
screaming to drown her out.
She
insisted that she was also from Hong Kong and had a right to be heard, asking
the crowds, "Is this real democracy?"
The
altercation, which involved verbal assault but no apparent physical abuse,
lasted 10 to 15 minutes.
Eventually,
half a dozen police came over and formed a ring around the handful of
anti-Occupy protesters, who then left the area escorted by the officers.
On Sunday,
a group of about 30 taxi drivers carried out their own protest to express their
frustration with the pro-democracy sit-ins, which they said were affecting
their livelihoods, according to local broadcaster RTHK.
But
the protest movement also commands a lot of sympathy among residents of the
city, especially after police used tear gas and pepper spray in a failed effort
to disperse demonstrators on September 28 -- tactics seen by many as overly
harsh.
Is it safe to travel to Hong Kong?
Is it
'deal time'?
Some
commentators are arguing that now is a good moment for demonstrators to cash in
their chips before they lose too much support.
"The
longer this drags on, the more student activists risk looking to average
Hongkongers like irritants," wrote William Pesek, an Asia-Pacific columnist for Bloomberg View, suggesting it's now "deal
time for Hong Kong's students."
"Why
not parlay what's been achieved so far into meaningful concessions from the
government?" Pesek said.
His
suggestion follows calls from some prominent figures, including the heads of
local universities, for students to leave the protest sites for their own
safety. Other observers have noted that the demonstrators have succeeded in
putting the democracy issue back on the agenda.
But it
remains uncertain what kind of deal the protesters might be able to reach with
the government. One of the movement's demands has been the resignation of Hong
Kong's top leader, Chief Executive C.Y. Leung.
Increasing
fatigue
Student
leaders and the government agreed late Monday to a framework for formal talks after protesters around the
government headquarters gave civil servants better access to the building.
Hong Kong
government representative Lau Kong-wah said Tuesday that a final meeting to
prepare dialogue between the students and the government would be held Friday
in Hong Kong.
It will be
an "open meeting" between Hong Kong's Chief Secretary Carrie Lam and
protest leaders, he said.
Leung
released a video statement saying students should consider the inconveniences
to the general public and insisted the students clear the vehicle entrances to
the government complex. He also advised students to leave the protest site in
Mong Kok.
Some
demonstrators have said they are running out of steam after enduring long days
and nights camped out on the asphalt amid stifling heat and torrential
downpours.
"I'm
tired, but I think we have to stay a while longer," said Kristine Wu, a
student who has been at the main protest site on Hong Kong Island for a week.
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'We really
have to stand strong'
Other
protesters among the depleted crowd still holding firm at the site Tuesday
expressed similar determination to stay put until some kind of result was
achieved.
"We
really have to stand strong," said Luk Kam Yan, a student who had been protesting
for eight days. "There's been a lot of rumors about clearing out, but I
feel if we stay here, we still have a bit of bargaining power."
Student
leaders have said they will continue the protest until they have productive
talks with the government and expressed optimism that their supporters will
stick with them.
"Many
protesters need rest after nine days of occupation," Lester Shum, the
deputy secretary general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said Monday.
"I don't believe they are already giving up. When they have recovered,
they will return."
But the
government appears content to watch the demonstrators' numbers dwindle as
negotiations drag on.
DIRECT SENTENCE
- "Why not parlay what's been achieved so far into meaningful concessions from the government?" Pesek said.
- "At first, I supported them, but then I started to think they are being selfish because they block the roads -- and that's wrong," said Virginia Lai
SOURCE : http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/07/world/asia/china-hong-kong-protests/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
