Protesters Make Apparent Concessions
HONG KONG -- In an apparent concession to authorities warning pro-democracy protesters to remove Hong Kong's streets by the start of the work week, students occupying the region outside city government headquarters agreed Sunday to take out some barricades which may have blocked the building's entrance throughout the weeklong demonstrations.
Nevertheless it had not been immediately clear how significant the move was and just how much it will defuse the standoff, with many different protesters vowing to stay in the spot. The partial withdrawal also appeared to be element of a method to regroup in another part of town.
Television footage through the scene showed a protest representative shaking hands by using a police officer and also the two sides removing some barricades together. About 300 demonstrators remained standing peacefully outside the government's main building, and failed to appear to have intentions to advance.
Over the harbor in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district, protesters appeared divided about if you should stay put or decamp on the city's Admiralty area, the key protest site. The climate in Mong Kok was relatively relaxed as people started to get rid of, though many said these were headed home instead of to a different one protest area.
"I don't determine what the next step is, having said that i is not going to retreat. The individuals the thing is here will not likely retreat," said Burnett Tung, an 18-year-old student who has served as a volunteer in a food supply station outside government headquarters all week.
"The leaders of the movement would be the citizens. We're leading the movement, not them," said Roy Wong, 21, referring to some protest leaders who called for a retreat from Mong Kok.
Hundreds and hundreds of people, most of them students, have poured in to the streets in the semi-autonomous city within the last week to peacefully protest China's restrictions in the first-ever direct election for Hong Kong's top leader, promised by Beijing for 2017. Although with the standoff involving the protesters along with the government within its eighth day, tempers were flaring and patience was waning among residents who oppose the occupation in the streets and the disruption it provides brought.
Police using pepper spray clashed with protesters overnight, after officials said they intended to have key streets open for schools and offices by Monday morning. Large crowds of demonstrators scuffled with police in the blue-collar Mong Kok district, a flash point that has seen violent clashes between pro-democracy student protesters and their antagonists throughout the weekend.
Police said they had to disperse the crowds with force because protesters had provoked officers with verbal abuse, while the students accused police of failing to protect them from attacks by mobs intent on driving them away. The students say police allied themselves with criminal gangs to clear them, but the government has vehemently denied the accusation.
Nevertheless it had not been immediately clear how significant the move was and just how much it will defuse the standoff, with many different protesters vowing to stay in the spot. The partial withdrawal also appeared to be element of a method to regroup in another part of town.
Television footage through the scene showed a protest representative shaking hands by using a police officer and also the two sides removing some barricades together. About 300 demonstrators remained standing peacefully outside the government's main building, and failed to appear to have intentions to advance.
Over the harbor in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district, protesters appeared divided about if you should stay put or decamp on the city's Admiralty area, the key protest site. The climate in Mong Kok was relatively relaxed as people started to get rid of, though many said these were headed home instead of to a different one protest area.
"I don't determine what the next step is, having said that i is not going to retreat. The individuals the thing is here will not likely retreat," said Burnett Tung, an 18-year-old student who has served as a volunteer in a food supply station outside government headquarters all week.
"The leaders of the movement would be the citizens. We're leading the movement, not them," said Roy Wong, 21, referring to some protest leaders who called for a retreat from Mong Kok.
Hundreds and hundreds of people, most of them students, have poured in to the streets in the semi-autonomous city within the last week to peacefully protest China's restrictions in the first-ever direct election for Hong Kong's top leader, promised by Beijing for 2017. Although with the standoff involving the protesters along with the government within its eighth day, tempers were flaring and patience was waning among residents who oppose the occupation in the streets and the disruption it provides brought.
Police using pepper spray clashed with protesters overnight, after officials said they intended to have key streets open for schools and offices by Monday morning. Large crowds of demonstrators scuffled with police in the blue-collar Mong Kok district, a flash point that has seen violent clashes between pro-democracy student protesters and their antagonists throughout the weekend.
Police said they had to disperse the crowds with force because protesters had provoked officers with verbal abuse, while the students accused police of failing to protect them from attacks by mobs intent on driving them away. The students say police allied themselves with criminal gangs to clear them, but the government has vehemently denied the accusation.
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