Government source hints at tougher line on Occupy protests if deadlock persists
Hawks may trump doves in debate on tactics to deal with protests if deadlock remains, they say
Hong Kong's government yesterday increased pressure on Occupy protesters, warning that "hawks" favouring tough action to clear sit-in sites would gain the upper hand if the deadlock between officials and student leaders was not resolved soon.
The warning came a day after unprecedented talks between top officials and student leaders failed to persuade the protesters to end the occupation that has paralysed parts of the city for more than three weeks.
"If the conciliatory approach doesn't work, doves within the government would be sidelined while hawks would gain the upper hand," one person familiar with the situation said.
"We are worried that the administration would eventually use force to disperse protesters and a certain degree of bloodshed would be unavoidable."
Tensions rose at the Occupy protest sites, with a new application for a court order to eject the crowd on Harcourt Road in Admiralty and a man splashing a flammable solvent at Mong Kok protesters.
Neither the government nor the Federation of Students have announced plans to seek a second round of talks to end the protests, triggered by restrictive rules for the 2017 chief executive election laid down by Beijing in August.
Federation leader Alex Chow Yong-kang said his group had not decided whether to seek another meeting.