Occupy Central's Dr Chan Kin-man looks to 'era of disobedience'

An "era of disobedience" featuring vigorous protests will eventually force Beijing and a more united pan-democratic camp to come together to talk, a co-organiser of the Occupy Central movement believes.

Dr Chan Kin-man, a Chinese University sociologist, made the remarks in a South China Morning Post interview after pan-democrats said there was no scope for dialogue after the national legislature imposed a tight framework for political reform in Hong Kong.

While Beijing's reluctance to "overcome" its concerns and allow Hong Kong more political power was the main reason for the impasse, Chan said pan-democrats should also reflect on a "lack of mutual trust among parties and their failure to form a team to negotiate with Beijing".

And to critics who argue protests are unlikely to get Beijing to back down, Chan said: "A day is too long in politics."

"You won't know what [President] Xi Jinping's next step is after he is done with the political struggle on the mainland," Chan said, in reference to Xi's attempts to consolidate power and fight corruption. Equally unpredictable was "what would happen in Hong Kong and in the Communist Party in one or two years' time".

Watch: Occupy Central organiser says critics should trust Hong Kong people will not resort to violence