At least a thousand people continued the protest today in front of the local government headquarters
PABLO WANG Hong Kong 27 SEP 2014
Student detained at Government Headquarters in Hong Kong. / VINCENT YU(AP
At least 74 Protesters arrested in Hong Kong today, after a week of student strike ended this morning for demand more democracy in the upcoming local elections that have caused clashes between the police and the young people who occupied the square in front of the local government headquarters. Joshua Wong, of 17 years and one of the leaders of the strike, He was arrested in the overnight riots and has been denied bail, although until now the Hong Kong authorities have not specified what the charges against him are..
Nearly a thousand people continued to gather today near the Civic Plaza., in front of the headquarters of the Hong Kong Executive that has been fenced for three months, from a previous demonstration. Many of them had come after learning about the events of last night, in which riot police officers used pepper spray to break up protesters. According to law enforcement, at its peak, Last night's concentration reached 5.000 personas.
In a laconic press release, The Hong Kong Government expressed its regret for the occupation of the government complex and denounced that security personnel, Police officers and protesters were injured overnight. In total, the detainees add 13 during the early morning and 61 throughout the rest of the day.
Las social networks They erupted with comments of indignation and surprise and photos of police officers in full riot gear confronting protesters who protected themselves with umbrellas and bottles of water..
The musician Edmund Leung, of 50 years and who joined the protesters after midnight, he was wondering: “¿Why so much police force?, why the shields, if the only thing the boys have done is recover a supposedly public square?”
Leaders of the pro-democracy civil movement Occupy Central (OC), Professors Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, They joined the protesters Saturday morning. The OC heads, whose objectives coincide with those of the students, They had tried to stay distanced from them to avoid criticism of possible manipulation of the young people.. OC threatens to call a series of sit-ins in the financial district of Hong Kong to demand electoral reform that allows universal and completely free suffrage in the next elections in the former colony, in 2017.
“We believe that the police used unnecessary force to suppress the student protest this morning. We strongly condemn this action, "which not only violates the police code of conduct but also interferes with citizens' freedom of expression.", OC indicated in a statement.
According to the electoral reform that Beijing announced on 31 of August, The next head of the local government may be elected by universal suffrage after being proposed by an electoral college of 1.200 notables, representatives mostly of business interests and linked to the central government. The opposition parties have already stated that they will veto this reform, that has not met the demands of OC and the student movement to allow the free designation of candidates in local elections. Hong Kong has been governed since 1997 under the motto “One country, two systems, which means greater freedoms for the former colony than the rest of China.
Unlike Central Occupy, more moderate and which is limited to requiring the free nomination of candidates and their vote through universal suffrage, The student movement has emphasized the importance of self-determination for Hong Kong this week, in addition to the need to break with an oligarchic political system. Both pro-democracy groups agree, however, in which the goal of greater political freedom is unlikely to be achieved in the short term. Thus, They consider it important to leave a legacy of greater civil awareness in a city not accustomed to street movements.
OC, that had lost steam since Beijing presented its reform proposal on 31 of August, has hinted that he could call the first sit-in on 1 October, which would match the 65 anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
