'Waves of struggle' will lead up to Occupy Central sit-in
The Occupy Central movement will plan "wave after wave of struggle" culminating in its blockade of the city centre if Hongkongers are denied a genuine choice of candidates in 2017.
The Occupy Central movement will plan "wave after wave of struggle" culminating in its blockade of the city centre if Hongkongers are denied a genuine choice of candidates in 2017.
Speaking at a hike for democracy that drew about 300 participants yesterday, Occupy founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting said core groups of the campaign as well as major student activist groups would meet to discuss their strategies next Sunday, immediately after Beijing announces its framework for universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
"What actions we take depend on the decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee," the law professor said.
"If [Beijing] shuts the door [on giving Hong Kong genuine democracy], we will start planning wave after wave of struggle, that at its climax will be an all-out blockade of Central."
Occupy co-organiser Dr Chan Kin-man said he hoped the pro-democracy camp could reach a consensus on its stance.
A sit-in aimed at paralysing the city's central business district would be a last resort, he said.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students said it was liaising with its affiliated student unions on a possible boycott of classes starting in mid-September if Beijing denied the city a genuine choice of candidates for chief executive in 2017.
Meanwhile, police again expressed their confidence in dealing with any "threat to society".
Speaking in a radio interview yesterday, deputy police commissioner Alfred Ma Wai-luk said he was confident that the 28,000-strong force would have adequate manpower to handle any mass protest.
In response to brutality claims over how police removed sit-in protesters from Chater Road on July 2, and denied the arrestees' rights, including access to lawyers, Ma said these accusations did not reflect "the full facts".
