Over 930,000 people signs for Anti-Occupy Central

The organizer of Anti-Occupy Central petition received more than 930,000 signature as of last Sunday, said a source close to the petition organizer on Monday.

Members of the public, dubbed as the "silent majority," came to petition stations across the city to voice their strong wish for the universal suffrage of the Hong Kong chief executive in 2017 and opposition against the proposed Occupy Central.

Local resident Mr. Leung said occupying Central affects not only Hong Kong's finance and trade, but more directly its tourism. Small businesses in Central would suffer heavy losses, he added.

Some are concerned about the traffic. Ms. Law from Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong Island, said that Central, the city's major financial and business area, has long been troubled by traffic congestion, and she was worried that the situation would be worsened if Occupy Central happens.

Jordan Chan, well-known singer and film actor, posted a message on his microblog, saying his family has been in Hong Kong for more than three centuries and asking those who would stop at nothing to make things worse in the territory to leave.

Starting from June, many in the business community stood up and spoke loud about the possible damage caused by Occupy Central. Audit firms of Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young and KPMG, commonly known as the Big Four,issued a joint statement in local newspapers, expressing opposition against the proposed Occupy Central, and their grave concern over its far-reaching negative impacts on Hong Kong's legal system, social order and economy. They also called for consultation and dialogue to solve disputes.

An advertisement put in the local newspapers by the five major commerce chambers pointed out some of major negative impacts on Hong Kong, including disruption of retail businesses, delay or cancellation of package tours to Hong Kong, possible social unrest and reduced foreign capital inflow into the territory.

A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Bank Employees Association showed that more than 60 percent of the respondents believed the protracted move of Occupy Central would paralyze the territory's financial center, disrupt the operation of banks or even cause layoffs.

Some financial research institute even put the direct losses at 5 billion HK dollars (about $645 million) if the campaign lasts for three days.

Hong Kong Chief Executive C Y Leung had publicly expressed his stand that he would join the signing of the petition to show his support. Some of the senior officials also signed the petition, including Secretary for Homg Affairs Tsang Tak-sing,Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man and Secretary for Education Eddie Ng.