Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday as pro-democracy group Occupy Central launched a mass disobedience campaign outside government headquarters.
Over 30,000 people reportedly attended the protest around Hong Kong government offices as police cordoned off the area, using pepper spray and tear gas against demonstrators.
|
Hong Kong leader, Chief Executive CY Leung, who saw protests outside his house this week, condemned the protests as “illegal”, following a week of escalating tensions in Hong Kong.
The launch of the campaign on Sunday – codenamed 'the Banquet' by the group – were brought forward after the arrest of 60 students, following student protests in the past week.
A statement by the group said the Chinese government "failed to deliver on political reform", with Beijing stating it will continue to vet candidates who choose to run in the 2017 Chief Executive elections.
Occupy Central said in a statement at the time, “Genuine universal suffrage includes both the rights to elect and to be elected.”
“The decision of the NPC Standing Committee has deprived people with different political views of the right to run for election and be elected by imposing unreasonable restrictions, thereby perpetuating 'handpicked politics’.”
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
