Thousands join Hong Kong students' democracy protest as classroom boycott begins

Students will take their fight for democracy to government headquarters today, after thousands formed a sea of white across the Chinese University campus to launch a week-long class boycott yesterday.

Organiser the Federation of Students estimated that 13,000 people turned up at the Sha Tin campus - including teachers, secondary school pupils and members of the public, as well as local and mainland students.

"The turnout is encouraging," secretary general Alex Chow Yong-kang said. "This is not just a matter for the students, but for Hongkongers as a whole."

Watch: Thousands of Hong Kong university students join week-long class boycott for democracy

Chow called on the public to join the fight today as the venue switches to Tamar Park, outside government headquarters in Admiralty. Protesters are expected to approach the office of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, where the Executive Council meets this morning, to demand Leung address the students.

Chow reiterated the students' demands: allow the public to nominate candidates for chief executive in 2017; abolish functional constituencies in the Legislative Council; and apologise for and retract Beijing's ruling limiting political reform. If the government refused, he said Leung, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and key ministers should quit.