Occupy Central protesters say they will keep fighting to remain in a public walk-through area beneath HSBC's headquarters in Central, no matter how a court rules on the bank's request for an injunction.
'We will fight until the end, and will not move out even if an eviction order is issued by the court,' said musician Leung Wing-lai, 30, one of the core members of the movement. 'Our movement aims to release a capitalist-controlled public area.'
Leung did not rule out the possibility that clashes might occur if police officers were deployed to forcefully evict the protesters, or to clear away their tents, personal belongings and banners.
The plaza is the bank's property, but was designated a public passage in an agreement made with the government in 1983.
In June, HSBC asked the High Court to rule that it was entitled to recover possession of the plaza - which the bank says the occupiers have used without its consent since October last year.
The bank said the occupation - which spans several pitched tents around communal areas where activists sleep, work and eat - posed a number of safety issues.
For example, HSBC argued, loose debris like rolling bottles might cause injuries, and their cooking on gas fires raised the fire risk.