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 Hundreds of protesters in the second week of their campaign for
greater democracy were camped out on the road leading into Hong
Kong's main government and business districts, the last holdouts
after days of rallies that attracted tens of thousands at their
peak.
The student-led protesters began lifting their controls of
government offices and retail areas on Monday as preliminary,
behind-the-scenes talks meant to lead to formal negotiations showed
modest signs of progress.
"Now we just have to wait and see about the meetings," said Ronald
Chan, a recent university graduate who was one of several protesters
manning a barricade in the Central business district, but allowing
delivery vans and garbage trucks in and out.
He said several passersby had thanked them for allowing deliveries
and he estimated that more than half supported them.
"We know we have caused some inconvenience but we have our reasons,"
he said. "We hope that other people understand."
The 'Occupy Central' protests, an idea conceived over a year ago
referring to the Central business district, have presented Beijing
with one of its biggest political challenges since it crushed
pro-democracy demonstrations in and around Tiananmen Square in the
Chinese capital in 1989.
Beijing fears that calls for democracy in Hong Kong could spread to
the mainland, with China already facing separatist unrest in
far-flung Tibet and Xinjiang. The Communist Party leadership has
dismissed the Hong Kong protests as illegal and has left the city's
Beijing-appointed leader, Leung Chun-ying, to find a solution.
Over the past week, the protesters have demanded that Leung quit and
that China allow Hong Kong people the right to vote for a leader of
their choice in 2017 elections. China wants to select candidates for
the election.
After preparatory discussions with student representatives late on
Monday, Lau Kong-wah, the government's undersecretary of
constitutional and mainland affairs, said both sides had agreed on
general principles for formal talks.
"I think today's meeting was successful and progress has been made,"
he told reporters.
Protest leaders have promised to carry on with their Occupy Central
demonstrations until their demands are met.
"It has to end when, and only when, the government promises
something, otherwise it is impossible to persuade the people to
quit," said Hong Kong Federation of Students leader Alex Chow.
With trunk roads occupied by protesters, alternative routes into the
city have quickly become clogged.
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Traffic jams on Hong Kong Island and across Victoria Harbour in
Kowloon stretched back miles in some places. Passengers trying to
get on to underground trains were packed tight as they queued up two
levels and spilled out on to the street near the main protest site
in the Admiralty district. SALES SLUMP
Retail authorities have warned that a quick solution is needed
before the former British colony suffers a fall in October sales, an
important shopping month that encompasses the Golden Week holiday
period, for the first time since 2003.
The Hong Kong Retail Management Association said late on Monday
sales at chain stores had dropped between 30 and 45 percent from
Oct. 1-5 in Admiralty and Central, as well as in the nearby shopping
district of Causeway Bay.
Sales fell just as sharply in Kowloon's working class district of
Mong Kok, scene of some of the most violent clashes between
protesters and police and pro-Beijing groups.
Many Hong Kong businesses were already struggling before the latest
demonstrations, a monthly survey by HSBC and Markit Group showed on
Tuesday. New business fell for the fifth straight month in
September, while firms reduced staffing levels for the sixth
consecutive month. The rate of job shedding was the quickest in four
months.
The protests have ebbed and flowed over the past week, with people
leaving the streets overnight to return later. Police have taken a
hands-off approach since Sept. 28, when they fired tear gas and
pepper spray at protesters.
The protests have helped wipe close to $50 billion off the value of
shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The World Bank has said the
protests were hurting Hong Kong's economy, although the impact on
China was limited.
 (Additional reporting by Farah Master, Clare Baldwin, Twinnie Siu,
James Pomfret, Clare Jim, Joseph Campbell, Yimou Lee, Diana Chan,
Kinling Lo and Venus Wu; Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Nick
Macfie and Robert Birsel)
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