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 China wagged its finger at the student protesters, and warned
against any foreign interference as they massed again in business
and tourist districts of the city in the late afternoon.
"Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua
Chunying defiantly told a news briefing in Beijing.
The unrest, the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule over
the former British colony in 1997, sent white clouds of gas wafting
among some of the world's most valuable office towers and shopping
malls before riot police suddenly withdrew around lunchtime on
Monday, after three nights of confrontation.
China rules Hong Kong under a "one country, two systems" formula
that accords the territory limited democracy. Tens of thousands of
mostly student protesters are demanding Beijing give them full
democracy, with the freedom to nominate election candidates, but
China recently announced that it would not go that far.
As riot police withdrew on Monday, weary protesters slept beside
roads or sheltered from the sun beneath umbrellas, which have become
a symbol of what some are calling the "Umbrella Revolution". In
addition to protection from the elements, umbrellas have been used
as flimsy shields against pepper spray.
Nicola Cheung, an 18-year-old student from Baptist University, said
the protesters in central Admiralty district were assessing the
situation and planning what to do next.
"Yes, it's going to get violent again because the Hong Kong
government isn't going to stand for us occupying this area," she
said. "We are fighting for our core values of democracy and freedom,
and that is not something violence can scare us away from."
Organisers have said that as many as 80,000 people have thronged the
streets after the protests flared on Friday night. No independent
estimate of numbers was available.
The protests, with no single identifiable leader, bring together a
mass movement of mostly tech-savvy students who have grown up with
freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China. The movement represents one
of the biggest threats for Beijing's Communist Party leadership
since its bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy student protests in
and around Tiananmen Square.
Cracking down too hard could shake confidence in market-driven Hong
Kong, while not reacting firmly enough could embolden dissidents on
the mainland.
The protests are expected to escalate on Oct. 1, China's National
Day holiday, with residents of the nearby former Portuguese enclave
of Macau planning a rally. Pro-democracy supporters from other
countries are also expected to protest, causing Beijing further
embarrassment.
Such dissent would never be tolerated on the mainland, where the
phrase "Occupy Central" was blocked on Sunday on Weibo, China's
version of Twitter. The protests have received little coverage on
the mainland, save for government condemnation.
Televised scenes of the chaos in Hong Kong over the weekend have
already made a deep impression on many viewers outside Hong Kong.
That was especially the case in Taiwan, which has full democracy but
is considered by China as a renegade province that must one day be
reunited with the Communist-run mainland.
"Taiwan people are watching this closely," Taiwanese President Ma
Ying-jeou said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
Britain said it was concerned about the situation in Hong Kong and
called for the right of protest to be protected.
The U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong issued a statement calling
for all sides to "refrain from actions that would further escalate
tensions".
China's Hua said Beijing noted statements expressed by countries
such as the United States. "We hope that the relevant country will
be cautious on this issue and not send the wrong signal," she said.
"We are resolutely opposed to any foreign country using any method
to interfere in China's internal affairs. We are also resolutely
opposed to any country, attempting in any way to support such
illegal activities like 'Occupy Central'."
"We are fully confident in the long-term prosperity and stability of
Hong Kong, because I believe this is in keeping with the interests
of all the people in China, the region and the world," she said.
In 1989, Beijing's Tiananmen crackdown sent shockwaves through Hong
Kong as people saw how far China's rulers would go to keep their
grip on power.
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SOME BANKS PULL DOWN SHUTTERS
Banks in Hong Kong, including HSBC <HSBA.L>, Citigroup <C.N>, Bank
of China <601988.SS>, Standard Chartered <STAN.L> and DBS <DBSM.SI>,
shut some branches and advised staff to work from home or go to
secondary branches.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city's de facto central bank,
said the city's interbank markets and Currency Board mechanism,
which maintains the exchange rate, were not affected by the unrest.
It said it stood ready to "inject liquidity into the banking system
as and when necessary". Hong Kong witnessed extraordinary scenes
at the weekend as thousands of protesters, some armed with nothing
more than umbrellas, blocked the main road into the city and police
responded with pepper spray, tear gas and baton charges.
Markets more or less took the weekend's unrest in their stride,
proof yet again of the pre-eminent place trade has always taken in
Hong Kong. Hong Kong shares <.HSI> ended down 1.9 percent.
The protests have spooked tourists, with arrivals from China down
sharply ahead of this week's National Day holidays. Hong Kong on
Monday cancelled the city's fireworks display over the harbour,
meant to mark the holiday. The United States, Australia and
Singapore issued travel alerts.
SCUFFLES BREAK OUT
Some protesters erected barricades to block security forces early on
Monday, although a relative calm descended after dawn. By
mid-afternoon, hundreds of protesters were seen streaming again into
downtown areas of Hong Kong island. A bus draped with a banner
reading "Democracy" was parked across a main road.
People placed discarded umbrellas over students sleeping in the sun,
while others distributed water and masks to guard against tear gas
and pepper spray.
Hours earlier, police had baton-charged a crowd blocking a road into
the main government district in defiance of official warnings that
the demonstrations were illegal.
Protesters called on Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying to step down.
Several scuffles broke out between police in helmets, gas masks and
riot gear, and demonstrators.
"If today I don't stand up, I will hate myself in future," said taxi
driver Edward Yeung, 55, as he swore at police. "Even if I get a
criminal record it will be a glorious one."
Across Hong Kong's famed Victoria Harbour, smaller numbers of
protesters, including some secondary school students, also gathered
in the Mong Kok district of Kowloon.
About 200 workers at Swire Beverage, a unit of Hong Kong
conglomerate Swire Pacific <0019.HK> and a major bottler for the
Coca-Cola Company <KO.N>, went on strike in support of the
protesters, a union representative said. They also demanded the
city's leader step down.
The "one country, two systems" formula guarantees Hong Kong a high
degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, with
universal suffrage set as an eventual goal.
However, Beijing last month rejected demands for people to freely
choose the city's next leader, prompting threats from activists to
shut down the Central business district.
China wants to limit 2017 elections to a handful of candidates loyal
to Beijing. Communist Party leaders worry that calls for democracy
could spread to the mainland.
(Additional reporting by Donny Kwok, James Pomfret, Venus Wu, Yimou
Lee, Diana Chan, Kinling Lo, Stephen Aldred, Twinnie Siu, Bobby Yip,
Lisa Jucca, Greg Torode, Umesh Desai, Saikat Chatterjee, Twinnie Siu
and Stefanie McIntyre in HONG KONG; Michael Holden in LONDON;
Writing by Paul Tait and Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Mark Bendeich)
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