Occupy Central movement is wrong: Liberal Party

The Occupy Central campaign should stay away from Central and block other places such as the government headquarters or the Chief Executive's Office in Admiralty, in its attempt to press the authorities into action on universal suffrage, the pro-establishment Liberal Party says.

Party leader James Tien Pei-chun said he agreed with the pan-democrats' demand for full universal suffrage and urged Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to offer a political reform plan for consultation as soon as possible.

However, he disagreed with the Occupy Central movement and said that many businessmen had expressed worries about the campaign's impact on Hong Kong's financial operations and international standing.

"The Occupy Central movement is wrong," Tien said yesterday. "Central is the heart of Hong Kong. The movement will be interpreted as social disorder by the international community and will put off investors.

"If some people want to make a political statement, it is all right for them to occupy the government headquarters or Chief Executive's Office … It is all right for them to occupy Causeway Bay or Tsim Sha Tsui, as long as it is not Central."

Organisers of the movement say they are aiming for at least 10,000 people to block roads in Central next July if the government fails by then to deliver on universal suffrage.