Black day for national education as Tamar site is swamped
Tens of thousands estimated to have descended on Tamar site as the protest escalates, piling more pressure on C.Y. Leung
An ocean of protesters in black T-shirts swamped the government's headquarters at Tamar in Admiralty last night as tens of thousands rallied for a ninth consecutive day against the national education curriculum.
Organisers said 120,000 protesters packed the site, spilling back on to streets of Wan Chai and as far as Causeway Bay. Police estimated the crowd was 36,000 strong by 9.30pm.
They inundated roads and forced staff to divert the crowds inside Admiralty MTR station as more and more people flocked to the site, spreading into a park between the complex and the Tamar military base of the PLA.
Incensed protesters sat and chanted slogans while about a dozen activists continued their hunger strike. They said the rally would continue overnight.
Joshua Wong Chi-fung, the 15-year-old convenor of student-activist group Scholarism, said: "The government cannot do whatever it wants. Hong Kong people will fight for their rights on their soil. Hong Kong will win. This movement will not fail."
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and Democratic Party veteran Martin Lee Chu-ming were among the crowd offering their support.
Campaign leaders insist Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying withdraw plans to introduce national education - branded a brainwashing tool to be used by Beijing to indoctrinate future generations - but agreed to a meeting proposed by Leung yesterday afternoon provided it was held in public. Leung's office informed protesters that he was willing to resolve the crisis through "dialogue without preconditions".