Students must end protests to protect residents' livelihoods

Who could have foreseen the swift occupation of Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok on September 28 by thousands of students who joined together to boycott classes for a political cause?

They daringly pre-empted the Occupy Central movement's plan to lay siege to Hong Kong's financial heart on October 1, China's National Day, with 10,000 supporters blocking the roads around Bank of China and HSBC.

The student groups were dubbed by the international media as heroes of the "umbrella revolution", since umbrellas were used by the protesters not only as protection against rain but also against tear gas when police sought to clear large numbers of protesters from the Admiralty area, the centre of government administration.

A widely viewed television dialogue between five student leaders and five top government officials ended in a stalemate without any meeting of minds.

The umbrella movement has lost momentum and is now looking for direction. Two of the original founders of Occupy Central have returned to their teaching posts while the pro-democrat lawmakers are more engaged with their pro-government colleagues in the Legislative Council on fulfilling the government's financial requirements and resolving other public business.

President Xi Jinping held a special meeting with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on Sunday, and told him the central government was committed to the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law. The president also said Beijing supported Hong Kong's democratic progress in accordance with the law, and hoped the city would maintain its long-term prosperity and stability.