Hong Kong: Hong Kong's civil servants were on Monday able to get back to work as student protesters agreed to remove some barricades blocking access to government offices, banking on the talks over political reforms.
As the protests entered their ninth day today, the streets looked calmer as fear loomed that police may use tear gas and pepper spray to crack down on the protestors.
the pro-democracy crowds that saw the number of the protestors on streets swelling to tens of thousands last week, thinned out considerably overnight before Monday – the day set as a deadline by the government for the police to restore order.
Protestors had thronged outside the government offices and also the office of Chief Executive CY Leung yesterday, but later they decided to withdraw.
#OccupyHK protesters outside the Chief Executive's office in Lung Wo Rd announce they've decided to withdraw after deliberating together
— Occupy Central 和平佔中 (@OCLPHK) October 5, 2014
Alex Chow, a leader of Hong Kong's Student's Federation, said that they had created a passageway for the civil servants to reach their offices.
2/2 Alex Chow: there is now a passageway through which civil servants can get to work on Monday
— Occupy Central 和平佔中 (@OCLPHK) October 5, 2014
Downplaying the dwindling numbers, Chow said that protestors would come back once they have taken rest.
"Because people need rest, but they will come out again. It doesn't mean the movement is diminishing. Many people still support it," Chow was quoted by a news agency.
According to a tweet by Occupy Central, Exco Convenor Lam Woon-kwong had urged protesters to "return the city, the roads to #HongKong ppl and for @HKFS1958 to engage in dialogue”.
Though Lam denied there was a deadline set, he reiterated need for resumption of "normal life" by Monday, saying that space and time was needed to defuse crisis.
The partial withdrawal by the protestors came after a violent night yesterday when scuffles broke out between protestors and the police which was ordered to clear the streets to restore peace.
Hong Kong is witnessing an unprecedented demonstration by thousands of people, protesting against China's screening of candidates for first-ever elections for Hong Kong's leader scheduled for 2017.
The protests that began two weeks ago in the form of a boycott by university and college students demanding electoral reforms, picked momentum on last Sunday (September 28) after the leaders of Occupy Central civil disobedience movement joined them, a day after the police crackdown on demonstrators turned ugly.
Hong Kong police clamped down harshly on the protesters during the two weekends, wielding batons and using tear gas and pepper spray and detaining dozens.
China has so far been hand-picking the leaders of Hong Kong and even this time it insists on a 1200 committee to screen three candidates for 2017 polls, based on their loyalty to China. The three chosen candidates will then be allowed to be put to vote by Hong Kongers to be their leader. However, Hong Kongers believe that China is reneging on its promise made in 2007 to grant the autonomous region full democracy.
