Calls from business sector grow for Hong Kong's Occupy protests to end
HSBC chief executive says investors are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards Hong Kong
With a highway and other roads still blocked, the five-week-old Occupy movement is harming the city's economic prospects, small and big businesses say.
He said both the investment and retail banking industries had been affected by the ongoing democracy movement. "Some investors who were originally planning to invest in Hong Kong … would now say they may wait and see first. This kind of attitude will have a severe impact on Hong Kong," Wong said.
"I am now in an embarrassing position, because I am not sure if I can stand tall and say we still have full respect for the rule of law," Wong said.
His concerns were echoed by the president of the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce, Javed Iqbal, who yesterday led a 20-person contingent to police headquarters in Wan Chai to show support for the city authorities. They called for the protest to end.
"The movement can't simply continue for another month or another week … Nothing much has been achieved, besides disturbance and a bad image for Hong Kong," said Iqbal.
G.H. Sagar, president of the Jammu Kashmir Association, said that protesters should trust the chief executive and retreat. "C.Y. Leung is a very nice man," Sagar said. "He can solve your problems."