Seventh day of Hong Kong protests peaceful as Chinese celebrate national day

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters wearing yellow ribbons gathered on the streets of downtown Hong Kong for a seventh day of their campaign pushing for universal suffrage for the territory.

Riot police used tear gas and pepper spray against the demonstrators at the weekend but yesterday there was no repeat of those scenes and it appears both sides are waiting to see what the next stage will be.

There had been fears that police would make a show of force before the start of celebrations marking the anniversary of the Communist Party's foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

“We can’t keep doing this for a long time, we can’t come every day, so there has to be some movement,” said TC Cheung, 32, a fitness instructor.

“I don’t think Beijing is going to make a move because they are worried that Tibet or Xinjiang will copy Hong Kong. But we want democracy, so [chief executive] CY Leung has to step down and things have to change. I hope Hong Kong can stand up for the future.”

A flag-raising ceremony in the early morning at the waterfront to mark National Day passed without incident, after student leaders appealed for protesters not to disturb the ceremony, fearful of angering the authorities in Beijing.

Demonstrators lined up in silence at Bauhinia Square to watch the ceremony and created a human chain, but the actions were peaceful.

The protesters are opposed to China’s restrictive plan to only allow Beijing-vetted candidates to run in Hong Kong’s 2017 elections for chief executive, and the demonstrations mark the most significant challenge to the Chinese government since it cracked down on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Under the “one country, two systems” deal between China and Britain ahead of the handover in 1997, Hong Kong has much more autonomy and freedom than across the border in mainland China, with universal suffrage the ultimate goal.

“When the British were here, we didn’t have democracy but you still felt you had a say in how things were run,” said one older protester.

“And this whole generation of young people don’t have that. They can’t afford apartments because the strong yuan has made things too expensive, and wages are lower too. They have missed out on things we have, so of course they are going to demonstrate.”

Protesters are calling for chief executive Leung Chun-ying to step down. Mr Leung faces a challenge in trying to balance the situation. A serious crackdown could damage confidence in Hong Kong as a financial centre, but a weak response could encourage democracy activists in mainland China, and anger Beijing.

He said that Hong Kong police would be able to maintain security without help from People’s Liberation Army troops from the mainland.

Protests illegal

Beijing has declared the protests illegal and made its opposition clear.The leadership has been censoring news and social media comments about the Hong Kong demonstrations.

Britain's chancellor George Osborne urged China to seek peace and said the former colony's prosperity depended on freedom. Washington urged the authorities "to exercise restraint and for protesters to express their views peacefully".

The events have also been followed closely in Taiwan, which has full democracy but is considered by Beijing as a renegade province that must one day be reunited with the mainland.

Wang Dan, who lives in Taiwan and was one of the student leaders in the 1989 Beijing protests, said the demonstrations were an inspiration. He said, "The basis of Beijing's authority is anti-democracy. If Hong Kong is more and more democratic it will be an example to the mainland, so Beijing feels it must put out the flames of Hong Kong's democracy.