John Tsang admits government not psychologically prepared for scale of protests

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah has admitted the government had "no experience or psychological preparation" for the "unprecedented" Occupy Central campaign.

Writing in his latest weekly blog, the city's No 3 official said he "did not sleep well" and worried about the city-wide civil disobedience protests escalating.

"The rapid pace of developments over the past week was completely beyond everybody's expectations," wrote Tsang. "It's hard not to be concerned that more serious chaos would happen ... To be honest I persistently didn't sleep well.

"Undeniably, the transformation of the mass movement is unprecedented. The government, political parties, community groups, the media and the public have no experience or psychological preparation to face this situation, making it all the more difficult to resolve the standstill."

Tsang added: "Groups of different classes, backgrounds and interests in society have a completely different understanding and judgment of the event, with diametrically opposite reactions, making it difficult to predict how events will develop in future."

The confrontation between pro- and anti-Occupy groups in Mong Kok "further deepened our worries", Tsang said. "It led to fears that ... more serious matters would be triggered.

"This event is a grave test for all Hong Kong people. Its handling will require everyone's wisdom and patience."