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 The plan signals a shift in the focus of the protests in the
former British colony away from the Hong Kong government which has
said it has limited room for maneuver.
But China is highly unlikely to allow any known pro-democracy
activists into Beijing, especially if the trip coincides with this
weekend's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum there.
"I think one of the ways we can solve this problem is to go to
Beijing personally and have a direct dialogue with Beijing officials
on this matter since the (Hong Kong) government claims that all
decisions have to be passed up to the NPC," Alex Chow, leader of the
Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS), said last week, referring
to China's parliament, the National People's Congress.
The protesters blocked key roads leading into three of Hong Kong's
most economically and politically important districts for weeks. The
campaign drew well over 100,000 at its peak and hundreds remain
camped out at the main protest site in the Admiralty district, home
to government offices and next to the main financial district.
The HKFS has not said whether its planned trip was to coincide with
APEC, which would mean, if allowed, it would take place in front of
an audience of world leaders.
Another student leader, Nathan Law, said details would be revealed
on Thursday.
Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying signaled on Tuesday that a
much-anticipated plan to link the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock
markets had been delayed as a result of the protests and urged
society to pull together to restore order in the city IMPACT ON BUSINESS
China has ruled Hong Kong since 1997 through a "one country, two
systems" formula which allows wide-ranging autonomy and freedoms not
enjoyed on the mainland.
The protesters are demanding fully-democratic elections for the
city's next chief executive in 2017, not the vote between
pre-screened candidates that Beijing has said it will allow.
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A survey by Hong Kong University's Public Opinion Program on Tuesday
showed that the HKFS has become the most popular political group in
the city.
On Wednesday, Regina Ip, a former Hong Kong security chief and a top
adviser to the city's embattled leader proposed HKFS be given seats
on the committee that nominates candidates for chief executive,
broadcaster RTHK reported.
Ip said the committee should include young people and women and
could cut back on agriculture and fisheries representatives,
according to the report.
Pro-Beijing groups have increasingly criticized the impact the
protests are having on business. Data on business conditions in the
city's private sector economy released in the HSBC Purchasing
Managers' Index (PMI) show the strongest pace of deterioration in
October in three years.
The chairman of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, Tam Yiu-chung, said on Tuesday
he would help convey the students' message to Beijing if they
stopped occupying main roads, RTHK reported.
Tam was also quoted as saying a trip by the students to Beijing
during the APEC meeting would not be successful.
(Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree, Michelle Price and
Twinnie Siu; Editing by Nick Macfie, Robert Birsel)
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