HK Occupy groups call off planned vote

Compromise unlikely as protesters' demands too radical: expert

A two-day "referendum" which was to ask Hong Kong Occupy protesters for their opinions about their next step has been called off, the Occupy groups announced Sunday.

The Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) and Scholarism, which have been acting as a voice of the Occupy protest, apologized at a press conference Sunday afternoon for postponing the vote after considering and hearing protesters' concerns.

"We admitted that the decision to launch the referendum was hasty and we have neglected the voices of many protesters. So we are here to apologize to the protesters of the three protest sites," said Joshua Wong Chi-fung, founder of Scholarism.

The "referendum" was scheduled to run on Sunday and Monday in the three protest sites of Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay and was to focus on two issues. First, to vote whether a report submitted to the central authority by the Hong Kong government must include the demand to withdraw the National People's Congress (NPC) decision on the 2017 chief executive election framework that was set on August 31. Second, to vote on whether functional constituencies should be abolished in the 2016 Legislative Council election and whether open nominations are necessary in the 2017 chief executive election.

Hong Kong's Legislative Council is made up of 60 members voted from five geographical constituencies and 28 functional constituencies. The latter is made up of groups that represent sectors such as finance, medical, industry, education and commercial groups in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, however, stressed again Saturday that the central government will not withdraw their decision on the electoral framework.

"The NPC has stated several times that they will not withdraw their decision that was made on August 31," Leung said during an event.

He also said he is concerned about the grass roots and that the nomination committee will not take sides.

A banner that said "Do not forget the original intention, postpone referendum" hung from a bridge at the Admiralty protest site. Protesters said the banner was placed because some did not agree to the "referendum."

"The referendum requires identity registration from protesters and this has provoked dissatisfaction because we do not know how the data will be handled and we fear that the government will take legal action afterward," a protester from Admiralty told the Global Times.

"Also, many of us think that the referendum is meaningless. The fact that we are still occupying already shows that we do not accept the government's response during the formal talks held last Tuesday, so there is no point to vote. Our action speaks," he said.

The Hong Kong government said it will submit a report to the central government to reflect public reaction to the political reform framework after meeting with the leaders of the student federation Tuesday evening. The talks did nothing to disperse protesters from the protest sites.

Chang Chak-yan, a former political scientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told the Global Times the vote would only further provoke violence and dissatisfaction among protesters.

"There have been differences among protesters' opinions but a referendum like this one could incite more disagreement and dissatisfaction because the government may not compromise according to the result. If the government doesn't compromise, protesters could become more radical," Chang said.

Lau Siu-kai, a deputy head of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said the movement has been led by extremists.

"First it's the Occupy Central leaders, now it's the student federation which has been demanding some unrealistic ideas, challenging the government's authority. Their demands are radical and it's hard for the government to compromise," he said.

An anti-Occupy signature campaign had collected over 350,000 signatures against the Occupy protest on Saturday, its first day, the Alliance for Peace and Democracy announced Sunday. The ongoing campaign requests protesters to withdraw.

However, four journalists were reportedly attacked during their interview at a rally led by the Blue Ribbon Movement, an anti-Occupy group, on Saturday night. A 61-year-old man was placed under investigation for the attacks, according to Hong Kong police.

Hong Kong Chief Secretary, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Sunday denounced the attacks and assured the public that the police will handle the case in an unbiased manner.