Violent scuffles erupt in Hong Kong protests (LIVE BLOG)

Signing off

This live blog is now closed.

Photos of the protests

Via Financial Times' South China correspondent Demetri Sevastopulo:

Hong Kong warns sustained protests could cause 'permanent' damage to financial system

Reuters — Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang warned on Friday afternoon that sustained protests in the city’s financial center could create "permanent" damage to the Asian financial hub.

The city's financial and money markets have been functioning normally, but he said the stock market could expect to experience short-term volatility and that investors should be aware of the risks.

"Hong Kong is at a critical juncture," he said. "This is not the time to lay blame… this is the time that we have to come together to solve problems."

On the violence against the protesters

"Thugs punched and kicked pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong on Friday night, shedding blood as they tore down demonstrators’ tents and attempted to forced them out," writes Tania Branigan in The Guardian. "… The veteran democracy activist Martin Lee and Occupy Central leader Benny Tai blamed triads for the violence in Mong Kok, a densely populated area also popular with shoppers. The area is known for its gang presence."

Read more here.

Hong Kong protests vs other protests around the world

A glimpse of the protests in Mongkok

GlobalPost contributor Tom Grundy is in Hong Kong and tweeted these updates:

Hong Kong student protesters call off talks with government

Agence France-Presse — Hong Kong student leaders on Friday said they had called off talks with the government after angry scuffles erupted at their huge pro-democracy demonstrations, saying police had allowed "triad" criminal gangs to attack their protest camps.

The Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) said it had "no other option but to call off the talks", aimed at bringing an end to days of massive demonstrations, after "the government and police today turned a blind eye to violent acts by the triads targeting peaceful Occupy protesters." 

Where the protests are taking place

Who is Hong Kong's embattled leader?

"Cunning wolf? Working class hero? Or bland Beijing loyalist," writes Katie Hunt in CNN. "C.Y. Leung, the Hong Kong leader whose resignation has become a rallying cry for the protesters that have filled the city's streets this week, was a relative unknown before he took the top job in 2012."

Check out this profile piece on C.Y. Leung.

Meet the enemies of Occupy Hong Kong

GlobalPost's Benjamin Carlson reports:

On the seventh day of non-violent protest in Hong Kong, violence erupted.

Despite protesters' fears that a crackdown would come again in the form of tear gas and pepper spray from police, it was ultimately fellow citizens who attacked, tearing down fliers, tents, and encampments, and in some cases beating the students themselves. Who were these people? And why have they taken such radical means to end the protests?

Some point to the influence of mainland China, speculating that thugs could have been paid to attack the protests and break them up. But many ordinary Hong Kongers also had reservations about the movement.

GlobalPost interviews with half a dozen anti-Occupy sympathizers at Mong Kok, all who denied they were paid or affiliated with an organization, showed that complaints about the economic and transportation impact of the protests weighed heavily — as well as suspicions that the fears were being manipulated by shadowy forces from abroad.

Read on here. 

Photo timeline of the protests

Have a look here:

Hong Kong clashes break out away from Central protest site

Reuters — Violent scuffles broke out in one of Hong Kong's most famous and congested shopping districts on Friday, as hundreds of supporters of Chinese rule stormed tents and ripped down banners belonging to pro-democracy protesters, forcing many to retreat.

As night fell and news of the confrontation spread, more protesters headed for the gritty, bustling district of Mong Kok, considered one of the most crowded places on Earth, to reinforce.

Numbers dwindled at some protest sites in and around the Central financial district as rain fell on Friday and as people returned to work after a two-day holiday.

But in Mong Kok, where notorious Triad criminal gangs operate bars, nightclubs and massage parlours in the high-rise apartment blocks packed together over neon lights and open-air markets, about 1,000 Beijing supporters clashed with about 100 protesters, spitting and throwing water bottles in a side-show to the main protest movement.

Police formed a human chain to separate the two groups amid the wail of sirens.

Signing off

This live blog is now closed. Follow GlobalPost on Twitter @GlobalPost for further updates.

More on the decentralized nature of the protests

"The problem for the protesters is that this movement is highly fragmented — run by a slew of different groups, each with distinctive personalities and priorities guiding them," write Gwynn Guilford and Lily Kuo in Quartz. "What appeases one group risks outraging another — which might be the whole point, for [Hong Kong's leader CY] Leung. Leung and [Chief Secretary Carrie] Lam's offer was extended only to HKFS' leaders."

Read the rest on Quartz.

The polite protest

GlobalPost's Allison Jackson writes:

Chinese state-owned media has described the thousands of pro-democracy protesters camped on the streets of Hong Kong as “extremists” and "radical."

Well, they would say that. But after examining dozens of photos of protesters posted on social media networks and elsewhere, we realized they had a point. The protesters are extremists — as in extremely clean, polite, generous and orderly.

Read Jackson's piece here.

Students 'proud of political awakening of Hong Kong'

It's almost 2 a.m. in Hong Kong, and the protests are reportedly dwindling. Here's what our correspondent Benjamin Carlson is seeing and hearing on the ground:

Student protesters are 'waiting for instructions on what to do next'

GlobalPost's Benjamin Carlson reports:

Students here are agitated and chanting after Hong Kong's leader, Leung Chun-ying's offer of arranging a dialogue with chief secretary Carrie Lam. They have spilled over into one of the main boulevards bordering the chief executive's office.

Students I spoke with say they are waiting for instructions on what to do next. They expect the police will come later tonight. Many people left to use the subway while it's still open, returning home for work tomorrow.

The protesters who remain seem to be the hardier core.

Hong Kong chief executive is not resigning

Reuters —  Hong Kong's leader, Leung Chun-ying, told pro-democracy protesters late on Thursday that he had no intention of stepping down, and warned them that the consequences of occupying government buildings would be serious.

Leung, speaking just minutes before an ultimatum for him to resign expired, also said that Chief Secretary Carrie Lam would hold a meeting with students soon to discuss political reforms. He gave no time frame.

Hong Kong authorities had earlier urged thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators to immediately end their blockade of the city center. The protests, nearly a week old, have brought large parts of the Asian financial hub to a standstill.

Deadline given by protesters for Hong Kong leader's resignation 10 minutes away

GlobalPost's senior correspondent Benjamin Carlson sends in this report from Hong Kong:

Thousands of students are gathered in cramped, hot, sweaty proximity up against barricades outside the office of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

Their goal is to prevent him from returning to work tomorrow. The last two days have been holidays in Hong Kong. The mood is tense as many have donned face masks and eye masks.

Scores of police with riot gear and zip cuffs have assembled on the other sides of the barrier.

It's unclear who will make the first move — the students, who have threatened to occupy additional government buildings, or the police, who have a responsibility to enable the government to work tomorrow.

One activist told me the students will begin "some other action" after 11:30 p.m.

Advice for the #UmbrellaRevolution, from Tiananmen protest veterans

GlobalPost's senior correspondent Patrick Winn reports:

Much of the world is captivated by protest scenes in Hong Kong, where massive crowds risk Beijing’s wrath. But perhaps no foreign observers are as riveted as veterans of China’s 1989 uprising, which ended in bloodshed near Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

That youth-led movement has been widely regarded as the most formidable challenge in history to the Chinese Communist Party’s iron rule. It ended in a gruesome crackdown. Estimates of the death toll range from a few hundred to a few thousand.

The violence and ensuing manhunt sent student organizers fleeing into exile around the globe. They are now pushing 50, but many have never dropped their pursuit of a freer, less authoritarian China.

Their dream has been revitalized by Hong Kong’s uprising, which has mobilized tens of thousands of people to peacefully blockade roads. … Veterans of the Tiananmen movement have expertise in this rare field of rising up against the Chinese state. GlobalPost contacted two prominent leaders from the Tiananmen protests to ask how Hong Kong’s demonstrators might prevail in this face-off.

Read Winn's piece here. 

More photos from the protest areas

What Beijing really fears: Hong Kong protests spreading across the country

Joanna Chiu reports from Hong Kong:

Events in Hong Kong have not gone unnoticed among China’s vast population, which has surely stoked government fears of pro-democracy "contagion" spreading through the country.

A number of Chinese citizens may have faced reprisal for publicly supporting the Hong Kong protests. The group China Human Rights Defenders has documented dozens of arrests in relation to messages and gatherings in support of Hong Kong protesters.

On Monday, prominent Chinese artist-activist Ai Wei Wei tweeted, "我是香港人" (I am a Hongkonger). He told CNN that people in China are carefully watching the protests because what happens in Hong Kong will reflect on China’s future.

Have a look at Chiu's story here.

Protesters gather near government building

Javier Espinosa, the Asia correspondent for El Mundo newspaper in Spain, just tweeted these photos: 

Hong Kong protesters' lack of central leadership could be 'weak link'

Interesting point in this story on The Washington Post by William Wan and Daniela Deane:

Up to now, the demonstrators have been scrupulous to avoid giving authorities reason to move beyond their barricades. But the lack of a centralized leadership among the protester could test its unity.

Various factions have set different priorities. Some seek Leung's resignation as the first goal while others favor concentrating on trying to force China to roll back the election rules.

"Right now, as protesters decide what to do next, decentralization is the weak link that Leung's government can exploit to sow dissension," said Willy Lam, an analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Read the full piece here.

Meanwhile, this is what Benny Tai, leader of the Occupy Central group, which has been instrumental in organizing the protests said to Foreign Policy Magazine:

We were very clear that students were the leaders and we just stood behind to support them. But now it has morphed into a territory-wide movement initiated by citizens, and no individual, or organization is directing the movement. As the student leaders said, the movement has no leader, because everyone is a leader.

The people who can make the final decision of the direction of the movement are those who have power to fulfill the people's demands. 

Read the Q&A here.

Here's a live stream of the protests, via NBC News

Should the US support Hong Kong's democracy movement?

GlobalPost senior correspondent Ben Carlson has been covering the protests in Hong Kong. Here's his latest dispatch:

If the US wants pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong to have a chance of winning Beijing's ear, the best thing to do may be to watch closely, but stay quiet.

While the White House has avoided declaring outright support for the Occupy Hong Kong movement, it has increasingly hinted at sympathy for the demonstrators' demands. Analysts say this risks backfiring not only on Washington, but on the protesters themselves.

Initially, the US was circumspect in its comments on the thousands of students who have flooded the streets of Hong Kong. On Monday, the US Consulate said it supported freedom of assembly, but added, "we do not take sides." The business community took a similar approach.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, a powerful organization representing private enterprise, urged dialogue and a return to "the usual stability" of business operations. But as the protests have grown, Washington has more strongly suggested support for the pro-democracy demonstrators.

Read the full story here.

Follow Carlson on Twitter: @bfcarlson for updates on what's happening on the ground.

Hong Kong calls on protesters to 'stop all occupying activites immediately'

Reuters — Hong Kong authorities on Thursday urged thousands of pro-democracy protesters to immediately end their blockade of the city center and said any attempt to occupy administrative buildings would be met with a resolute and firm response.

The mostly young protesters have demanded Hong Kong's leader, Leung Chun-ying, step down by the end of Thursday, threatening to occupy government buildings if he fails to do so.

They have also called on China to introduce full democracy so the city can freely choose its own leader.

Leung, appointed by Beijing, has refused to stand down, leaving the two sides far apart in a dispute over how much political control China should have over Hong Kong.

Steve Hui, senior superintendent of the Hong Kong police force, said police would take action in accordance with the law if the protesters tried to enter government buildings.

"Whenever there are violent and major incidents and crimes such as fighting and any other situation that jeopardizes safety and public order, police will take resolute and firm action to restore public order," Hui said, when asked how police would respond should the students carry through with their threat.