Explain why Hong Kong police used force, protesters ask chief executive

• In wake of tear gas usage by Hong Kong police while clamping down on protesters during the weekend, the Hong Kong Federation of Students leader Alex Chow has asked the the city's chief executive CY Leung to explain to protesters as to why the police needed to use force to "suppress" the protests, the BBC reported.
• With just a day left for the deadline given by the protesters, the Occupy Central in a tweet warned Chief Executive CY Leung against the repercussions on National Day, in case demands were met.

  CY Leung, you have just a few hours left to meet our demands. What kind of 'National' Day do you want to have?

  — Occupy Central 和平佔中 (@OCLPHK) September 30, 2014

• Hong Kong Students' Federation leader Alex Chow has threatened to intensify the campaign by increased number of sit-ins across various spots in the city.

• Having discussed with protesters across Hong Kong, Occupy Central leader Chan Kin-man said that they had two major demands: True democracy and resignation of CY Leung.

  .@HKFS1958 head Alex Chow said several forms of escalation are possible if CYLeung doesn't meet demands,incl sitins @ more locations in city — Occupy Central 和平佔中 (@OCLPHK) September 30, 2014

• Both the students' federation of Hong Kong and Occupy Central movement are threatening to widen the protests if their demands are not met by Wednesday.

• Adding to the protesters' fears of a Chinese military intervention, a photo published by the South China Morning Post, shows a man posted at the People's Liberation Army headquarters, keeping an eye on Hong Kong protests using a binocular. Despite Chief Executive CY Leung;s assurances that Chinese military won't be involved, the protesters on Hong Kong's streets remain apprehensive.

• Much more numbers are expected to hit the streets tomorrow when Hong Kong is set for a holiday. Also, Occupy Central has given a deadline of October 01 to the government to accept its demands and for the leader to step down, failing which it will intensify its protests.

• Though there was a moderate presence of demonstrators on Tuesday morning, the protesters' crowd is thickening after lunch time, reported the BBC. 

•  Expressing "deep concern" over Britain's former colony, PM David Cameron said he felt a "deep obligation" towards Hong Kong and hoped that the situation could be soon resolved, reported the Sky News.

• "When we reached the agreement with China there were details of that agreement about the importance of giving the Hong Kong people a democratic future within this two systems approach that we were setting out with the Chinese, so of course I am deeply concerned about what is happening and I hope this issue can be resolved," he told Sky News.

• Hong Kong was handed back to China by the UK in 1997 after reaching a deal on its political future. Hong Kongers have easily turned a deaf ear to the calls of ending the campaign by Leung and are instead enjoying Rihanna's Umbrella song. The Hong Kong protests, dubbed as the “Umbrella Revolution” by the social media, has gone more musical as a video of protest images set to the tune of Rihanna's Umbrella song, is creating a buzz online, the BBC reported, citing an instagram post by a user named Poonhyin. 

• Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry has made it clear that it won't go back on its decision on Hong Kong, saying ''HongKong is China's Hong Kong and its affairs fully fall within China's domestic affairs", reported the CCTV news.
• It seems like China has eased the restrictions on web in wake of Hong Kong protesters as a BBC reporter tweeted that terms like "Hong Kong students" and "Central" were available on Weibo today. Both terms were blocked yesterday.
• Central Occupy co-founder Chan Kin-man on Tuesday warned that if CY Leung "announces his resignation, this occupation will be at least temporarily stopped in a short period of time, and we will decide on the next move," AFP quoted him as telling reporters.
• Occupy Central leaders have rejected CY Leung's requests to call off the protest and seek his resignation.

• Leung also said that China will not revoke its decision taken in August to restrict voting reforms for the first direct elections to pick his successor in 2017 polls, saying, “The central government will not rescind its decision". 

"China will not compromise to the illegal threats of some people," he said. "Based on the basic law, we will be able to have one person, one vote universal suffrage. China's decision is based on and using what the basic law allows them to do, " he was quoted as saying by the CNN.

• In his first public comments since Sunday, Hong Kong leader CY Leung has urged the leaders of Occupy Central to call off the protest.

"Occupy Central founders had said repeatedly that if the movement is getting out of control, they would call for it to stop. I'm now asking them to fulfil the promise they made to the society, and stop this campaign immediately," he was quoted as saying by the AFP.

• With investors struck by uncertainty triggered by pro-democracy unrest, Hong Kong shares plummeted to a three-month low on Tuesday, a day ahead of National China Day, that is a holiday.
• According to Reuters, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.2 percent by midday at 22,950.66 points - its lowest since June 26.
• Hong Kong police commissioner in an email to its officers, has commended them for being steadfast and performing duties in professional manner in what he called an "unprecedented" operation to contain the unlawful protests. The email was leaked to the South China Morning Post news and tweeted by the Ocuppy Central movement. Despite agreeing that the recent crackdown on protesters sparked controversies (over the use of tear gas), the commissioner said he appreciated the officers and believed they will overcome the challenge.

Email from HK police commissioner to officers, leaked to @SCMP_News http://t.co/Q71kKHFy8R pic.twitter.com/PumrkCLB3V — Occupy Central 和平佔中 (@OCLPHK) September 30, 2014

• The United States has chosen to react with caution, not openly condemning China, but urging the security forces to "exercise restraint" while dealing with the protesters. The White House also urged the protesters to act peacefully
• The US has supported the peaceful protests by Hong Kongers, backing "universal suffrage in Hong Kong in accordance with the basic law", said White House spokesman Josh Earnest in a statement.
• According to China Digital Times, a string of search terms related to Hong Kong protests, has been blocked on China's micro-blogging site Weibo. Authorities have also blocked Instagram in China.
• As protesters refuse to budge, blocking streets and hitting transport, officials have reportedly decided to keep schools shut in some districts of Hong Kong on Tuesday because of safety concerns.
• The current Hong Kong leader CY Leung is highly unpopular among the pro-democracy protesters and they have called for his resignation, warning that the history will condemn him, said the BBC.
• "Chief Executive CY Leung has been evading the strong request of the public to step down, which does not help resolve the crisis of social disorder triggered by the constitutional reform issue. We believe CY Leung will be condemned by the history of democratic development in Hong Kong," Occupy Central said in a statement.
• According to local media reports, the organisers of the protest – that is a mix of students and the members of Occupy Central civil disobedience movement – have threatened to intensify their protests if the government does not give in to their demands by October 1, that is a holiday marking China's National Day.
• Monday night saw the pro-democracy protesters in an almost celebratory mood as they spent a merry night, singing and chanting.
• Many people also participated in a mobile light vigil on Monday night as they held up their glowing cell phones.

The protesters, who have been camped on the streets for the fourth day today, want Hong Kong to have an independent election, untouched by Beijing's bridle.

Hong Kong police clamped down harshly on the protesters in the beginning, using tear gas and pepper spray and detaining dozens, but the riot police were yesterday withdrawn by the authorities.

Hong Kong is witnessing an unprecedented demonstration by tens of thousands of people, protesting against China's vetting of candidates for first-ever elections for Hong Kong's leader scheduled for 2017.

China has so far been hand-picking the leaders of Hong Kong and even this time it insisted to use a screening committee to select the candidates for 2017 polls.

The protests that began a week ago in the form of a boycott by university and college students demanding electoral reforms, picked momentum on Sunday after the leaders of Occupy Central civil disobedience movement joined them, a day after the police crackdown on demonstrators turned ugly.