Mainland-based relatives of the overstayers say they have had to contend with a news blackout on the protest. As the sit-in continues into its second week, relatives have been able to glean little news from official mainland channels. One relative in Fujian province, where most of the protesters are from, said he had heard nothing from television or newspapers locally. Like the overstayers, he also has Hong Kong parents and has been applying for years to emigrate to live with them. 'There's no news on it at all. I call my friends and parents every day to find out what's going on,' said the 27-year-old bachelor whose siblings are also in Hong Kong. He and other mainlanders are closely watching what will happen to the demonstrators. 'I think the protesters have a chance. As long as you don't come back to the mainland, you have a chance.' Mainland authorities in certain areas have reportedly stopped issuing travel or family visitation permits to anyone with parents in Hong Kong. Mr Wong said Public Security Bureau officials in Fujian had denied his request for such two-way permits. Huang Sum-tang, a 31-year-old Fujian resident whose cousin is one of the demonstrators, said he had also been denied a two-way permit. 'The Public Security Bureau told me I couldn't go as a tourist. Before, one only had to wait a month to get a travel permit,' said Mr Huang, whose parents live in Hong Kong. 'The Government must be worried people would flock to Hong Kong if they saw the protesters on TV. 'We can't get any news here, but when Hong Kong people returned here for Lunar New Year, they told us what was happening. 'The protesters are giving us some hope. Having a lawyer help them is a positive sign. If the Hong Kong Government allows them to stay, that's a sign of hope for us because we also have parents in Hong Kong.' In Shaoqing, the hometown of a few of the protesters, there was coverage of the Court of Final Appeal's January 29 ruling but a news blackout since, said a protester who identified himself as Mr Guang. He is from Shaoqing and has learned from friends of the lack of news. 'If there's anything they consider not beneficial or favorable for China, they cut it,' Mr Guang said. In the Guangdong capital, Guangzhou, papers have given brief coverage of the ruling, but little on the protest. Households with cable television are able to pick up news from Hong Kong-based channels.
