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Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai said he understood that protesters in Mong Kok were not happy that the vote was confined to Admiralty. Photo: Nora Tam

Benny Tai says retreat not among options in Occupy protesters' vote

Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting reiterated that a planned vote among protesters this Sunday was not meant to pave the way for a retreat, but rather to survey views on a counter-proposal to the government.

Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting reiterated that a planned vote among protesters this Sunday was not meant to pave the way for a retreat, but rather to survey views on a counter-proposal to the government.

“Protesters can decide whether to leave with their feet,” Tai said in a radio programme on Friday morning. “We cannot force them to leave with the poll.”

Chief Secretary Carrie Lam and other officials refused to give in to protesters’ demands for the public nomination of candidates in 2017, during a dialogue on Tuesday. Instead, the government offered to submit a public-sentiment report to the central government and to set up a platform to gauge views on constitutional changes beyond 2017.

Tai said Occupy supporters in Admiralty would be asked two questions that can be answered by yes or no.

The first question is whether the public-sentiment report would be able to affect the decision by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on August 31, which laid down a restrictive framework for Hong Kong’s 2017 chief executive election.

READ MORE: Student, Occupy leaders announce vote on government’s reform proposals

The second question is whether the platform should cover arrangements for the 2017 vote – and not just years beyond it.

Tai said the exact wording for the questions was still being sorted by Robert Chung Ting-yiu, the chief pollster for the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Programme. Protesters would have the option of abstention.

Tai also said he understood that protesters in Mong Kok were not happy that the vote was confined to Admiralty. He said he asked Chung’s team to cover Mong Kok, but there were technical difficulties.

On Sunday night between 8pm and 11pm, people can log on to a special Wifi signal upon entering the Admiralty protest area, dubbed “Umbrella Plaza”.

They can then use a smartphone app to vote after registering their identity card numbers and receiving an SMS confirmation. It is the same method Occupy Central used in its June referendum on suffrage.

Tai said that in the future, similar polls, to make other decisions, would be organised and would include the Mong Kok protesters.

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