Occupy protests facing dead end

Hong Kong's lawmakers believe that one month after the Occupy protests broke out they have come to a dead end, due to their lack of a clear direction and the protest leaders' resistance to making concessions.

On Tuesday, thousands of protesters commemorated the one-month anniversary of the movement at the three protest sites. The commemoration event in Admiralty started at 5:30 pm Tuesday. Supporters went on stage to share their experiences on September 28, the first day of the movement.

The leaders of Occupy Central, Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Chan Kin-man, political commentator Tsang Chi-ho and singer Denise Ho Wan-see also attended the event in the evening. Although the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS), which has acted as the voice of the protests, has continued to say that their demand is for open nominations for the 2017 chief executive election, disagreements and various opinions are found among the protesters. The direction of the movement is becoming unclear.

"The whole protest lacks clear leadership and demands, as people from different groups join the Occupy protests for all kinds of different reasons," Tang Ka-piu, a lawmaker with the Federation of Trade Unions, told the Global Times.

He said some people joined the protests not for "democracy" but simply because of dissatisfaction with the current policies of the city government.

"I've been told that one middle-aged person, who could not afford to buy a house, joined the protests just to vent his anger," Tang said.

Joseph Chan Cho-wai, a professor specializing in politics at the University of Hong Kong, said the movement has come to a dead end as the HKFS has refused to consider suggestions voiced by the government.

Lester Shum, the deputy secretary-general of the HKFS, said Monday that they refused to withdraw and will not continue formal talks with the government unless the government publicizes details of the report which it has promised to submit to the central government.

Another lawmaker, Leung Che-cheung, from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong party, said that the protest is attracting more and more criticism from the public.

"Having occupied the roads for a month now, these protesters are no longer asking for democracy, but are becoming notorious among the public for affecting their livelihoods. There have been more voices from the public demanding the protests end," Leung said.