2014 Hong Kong protests

This article is about occupation protests also known as "Occupy Central". For the advocacy group of a non-violence civil disobedience, see Occupy Central with Love and Peace.

2014 Hong Kong protests
A "candlelight vigil" held with mobile phones
Date	26 September 2014 (26 September 2014) – ongoing
Location	Hong Kong Admiralty Central Wan Chai Mong Kok Causeway Bay Tsim Sha Tsui
Parties
Pro-democracy activists Hong Kong Federation of Students Scholarism Occupy Central Pan-democracy camp Hong Kong government Security Bureau Hong Kong Police Force Anti-Occupy activists Silent Majority for Hong Kong Alliance for Peace and Democracy Suspected Triads
Lead figures
Joshua Wong Chi-fung (Convenor of Scholarism) Chan Kin-man Chu Yiu-ming Benny Tai (Co-organisers of the Occupy Central) Alex Chow Yong-kang Lester Shum (Representatives of Hong Kong Federation of Students) As the protests have become mostly autonomous, it has no significant leadership CY Leung (Chief Executive of Hong Kong) Carrie Lam (Chief Secretary for Administration) Lai Tung-kwok (Secretary for Security) Andy Tsang (Commissioner of Police)
Casualties and losses
Arrests: 89 Injuries: 69 Injuries: 12

The Hong Kong protests in 2014, also referred to as Umbrella Revolution, began in September 2014 when pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong protested outside the government headquarters and occupied several major city intersections after the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) announced its decision on proposed electoral reform. The NPCSC would require a nomination committee to elect up to three electoral candidates before proceeding to a vote involving the general population. After the election, the Chief Executive-elect would be formally appointed by the central government before officially taking the post.

The Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism began protesting outside the government headquarters on 22 September 2014. On the evening of 26 September, several hundred demonstrators breached a security barrier and entered the forecourt of the Central Government Complex, which has been barred from public entry since July 2014. Officers cordoned off protesters within the courtyard and restricted their movement overnight, eventually removing them by force the next day, including student leader Joshua Wong, who was eventually detained for more than 40 hours. Occupy Central announced that they would begin their civil disobedience campaign immediately.

On 28 September, the protesters marched onto Harcourt Road and proceeded to occupy Queensway as well, blocking both east-west arterial routes in northern Hong Kong Island. After a several hour standoff, police attempted to disperse the protesters with pepper spray, tear gas and water guns.

Names

When Occupy Central with Love and Peace declared the launch of the campaign, many protesters came out with the purpose of supporting the student activists. The occupation phase of the campaign was neither specifically organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Students nor OCLP. The term "Occupy Central"(佔中) is commonly used by the media to describe this occupy campaign in Hong Kong.

The name "Umbrella Revolution" was coined by New Yorker Adam Cotton on social media on 26 September to describe the 2014 Hong Kong protests, and was widely repeated by Western media to describe the large number of protesters who brought umbrellas in order to defend themselves from pepper spray and tear gas.

Background

Main article: 2014 Hong Kong electoral reform

In the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, the governments of the United Kingdom and China agreed Hong Kong would revert back to Chinese control in July 1997 and stated the basic policies under which the city would be governed after the handover. Under the principle of One Country, Two Systems, Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs for 50 years after the transfer of sovereignty. Annex I of the treaty states the Hong Kong's leader, the Chief Executive, would eventually be selected by election or through consultations and the legislature would be chosen through elections.

The Hong Kong Basic Law was drafted in accordance with the Joint Declaration and details how the former British colony would be governed. Socialism as practiced on the mainland would not be extended to Hong Kong. Instead, the territory would continue its previous capitalist system and way of life for a period of 50 years after 1997. Hong Kong would retain responsibility for its own domestic affairs including, but not limited to, the judiciary and courts of last resort, immigration and customs, public finance, currency, and extradition. Articles 45 and 68 of this constitution prescribed that the Chief Executive would eventually be elected through universal suffrage.

Standing Committee decision on electoral reform

On 31 August 2014, the Tenth Session of the Standing Committee in the Twelfth National People's Congress set limits for the 2016 Legislative Council and 2017 Chief Executive elections. While calling for universal suffrage, the decision imposes the standard that "the Chief Executive shall be a person who loves the country and loves Hong Kong," and requires "the method for selecting the Chief Executive by universal suffrage must provide corresponding institutional safeguards for this purpose." The decision states that for the 2017 Chief Executive election, a nominating committee, similar to the present Election Committee system, be formed to nominate two to three candidates, each of whom must receive the support of more than half of the members of the nominating committee. After popular election of one of the nominated candidates, the Chief Executive-elect "will have to be appointed by the Central People's Government." The process of forming the 2016 Legislative Council would be unchanged, but following the new process for the election of the Chief Executive, a new system to elect the Legislative Council via universal suffrage would be developed with the approval of Beijing.

While Li Fei, a deputy secretary general of the Committee, said that the procedure would protect the broad stability of Hong Kong now and in the future, while pro-democracy advocates viewed the decision as a betrayal of the principle of "one person, one vote," as they considered candidates deemed unsuitable by the Beijing authorities would not be nominated. The Standing Committee decision is set to be the basis for electoral reform crafted by the Legislative Council, although Democratic Party legislative members have already promised to veto the proposal. In response, Occupy Central announced that it would organise civil disobedience protests. Simultaneously, the Hong Kong Federation of Students and the student pressure group Scholarism staged a coordinated class boycott and organised public rallies and street assemblies.

Stated goals by Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism

• Universal suffrage
• Resignation of Chief Executive CY Leung
• Withdrawal of the decision by the National People's Congress Standing Committee

Class boycott

Hong Kong college student strike on 23 September 2014

Main article: 2014 Hong Kong Class Boycott Campaign

Scholarism organised demonstration outside the Central Government Offices barricade on 13 September 2014. Protesters wearing yellow ribbons and blind-folded with red cloth declared class-boycott on 26 September in response to the wider class-boycott movement.

At around 22:30 on 26 September, up to about 100 protesters deciding to "reclaim" the privatised Civic Square for the public clambered over the fence of the square and tried to tear down the metal barriers around the central flag podium. The police force mobilised on Civic Square and started to physically carry away the protesters two hours afterwards. At approximately 01:40 on 28 September, the organisers announced the start of civil disobedience campaign.

Chronology

26/27 September

Having received a Notice of No Objection approving the assembly that day between 00:01 to 23:59, some 100 protesters proceeded to gather in Tim Mei Road in the forecourt at the eastern entrance of the Central Government Offices.

First clearance

At 00:45 on 27 September, a large police force was mobilised to surround protesters at the centre of the Civic Square. At first, the police allowed protesters to leave voluntarily if they produced their personal identification documents. For those who refused to leave, each was carried away by at least four police officers. In an interview on 29 September with radio program "On a Clear Day", Joshua Wong Chi-fung reported that ten police officers carried him away. Protesters in the Square included secondary students and their parents, as well as representatives from student organisations. On the other hand, at 1:20am, the police applied pepper spray to the crowd near the Legislative Council, with some secondary students injured. A woman in the enclosed square asked to go to the washroom, but her request was declined by the police. Scholarism representatives demanded that a female police officer deal with the issue, to no avail. She had to urinate in the plaza while other protesters covered her up with an umbrella. From the evening of September until the following midnight, 13 people were arrested including the Convenor of Scholarism Joshua Wong Chi-fung.

Second clearance

At 1:30 pm, the police force carried out the second round of clearance during which 48 men and 13 women, aged between 17 and 58, were taken into custody for forcible entry into government premises and unlawful assembly. The charges were later refuted by the media and the organisers as the "government premise" was indeed designated as public open space, and the assembly has been approved by the Central District Police. A 27-year-old man was also arrested for possession of an offensive weapon. All the arrested were detained at the Police College in Wong Chuk Hang. The police spokesman declared the assembly outside the Central Government Complex at Tim Mei Avenue illegal, and advised citizens against participating in the assembly, passing by or getting close to that area. The arrested demonstrators, including Legislative Councillor Leung Kwok-hung and some HKFS members, were released around 9 pm. However, HKFS representatives Alex Chow Yong-kang and Lester Shum were detained for 30 hours. The police later cleared the assembly, arresting a total of 74 people who ranged from 16 to 58 years of age.

Bridge blockade

At 7:30 pm, riot police equipped with long shields shoved off protesters with fences outside CITIC Tower, and also blocked the Tower's exits as well as the footbridge linking it to United Centre. Citizens overlooking on the bridge raised their hands in front of the riot police. Authorities then swiftly dispelled people sitting on the ground; some were grabbed by hand and dragged away.

Conflicts arose

File:9.27添美道集會-night overview.jpg

Aerial view of protesters on Lung Wui Road on the evening of 27 September

At 9:48 pm, the police raised a red-flag warning at Tim Mei Avenue while protesters demanded reopening of roads. Meanwhile, streams of citizens also started to arrive at the Central Government Complex. They went there through the footbridge outside Admiralty Centre, and disputed with the police regarding road reopening on the downward escalator. Besides, the police repeatedly broadcast the message that Tim Mei Avenue had been blocked due to congestion, and they rearranged their deployment. Chaos persisted, with conflicts breaking out at Tim Mei Avenue, Performing Arts Avenue, Admiralty Centre footbridge and other places.

At 10:20 pm, protesters sat down at Performing Arts Avenue, trying to prevent the entry of police vehicles. But the vehicles forced their way in, and protesters immediately rushed to the front to stop them. Police formed a chain to let the cars pass. Amid the chaos, police displayed a yellow flag and the protesters raised their hands in response.

At 11 pm, the queue at Tim Mei Avenue extended to The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. Around 700 people gathered on the Admiralty Centre bridge. No road was reopened. Some protesters even started to lie on the ground at Fenwick Pier Street to stop police cars from reaching Tim Mei Avenue. Protesters dressed in orange sitting on fences disputed with the police at 10:30 pm. The police later announced the retreat of the defence front, winning a round of applause from protesters.

28 September

Occupy Central started early

On 28 September at 1:30am, Benny Tai, one of the initiators of the Occupy Central movement who was at Tim Mei Avenue outside the Central Government Complex, announced the beginning of Occupy Central, which began at the Central Government Complex. This signified the commencement of a movement that had been publicised for 1 year and 8 months. The demands of Occupy Central movement were the immediate withdrawal of the decision on political reform by the National People's Congress Standing Committee, and immediate public consultation on the issue. Protesters who came in support of the student-initiated assembly now had doubts about the subsequent Occupy movement. Supporters believed the widespread success of the assembly made it an excellent opportunity to push for Occupy Central, while those opposed to the movement stated that the nature of the student-led campaign had changed.

Later that day it was reported that at least 34 people had been injured in that day's protests. The officials also asked the protesters to leave, although not all of them complied.

Protesters alliance at Harcourt Road

Protesters occupy Harcourt Road on 29 September

On the morning of 28 September, police blocked roads and bridges entering the Tim Mei Avenue assembly. Protest leaders summoned citizens to come to Admiralty to encircle the police force.

After seeing live broadcast of the students protesting and being surrounded by the police and seeing numerous Facebook posts asking for help, thousands of citizens rushed into Rodney Street, which is on the opposite side of Harcourt Road and Lung Wui Road. They demanded police to clear the way to the assembly.

At 4 pm, police forces started to suppress protesters led by Civic Passion at Rodney Street. Meanwhile at the Performing Arts Avenue, protesters broke through Police defence line at Harcourt Road and thousands of protesters entered Harcourt Road and walked back to Admiralty.

These protesters crossed the road shoulder in order to rescue protesters being suppressed on the other side of the road. Police forces were then "anti-surrounded" and had to retreat. At 4:20 pm, the two units allied on Harcourt Road, which started the ongoing occupation of Admiralty.

The occupation spread from Harcourt Road as evening approached. On the West side, citizens started occupying Cotton Tree Drive, Queensway to Connaught Road Central and Chater Road. On the East side, citizens coming out of Wan Chai MTR Station started gathering on Lockhart Road, Fenwick Street and Fenwick Pier Street.

Tear gas fired

Tear gas fired on protesters outside Government Headquarters

Tensions at the juncture of Tim Mei Avenue and Harcourt Road kept rising after several jostles which ended up with the usage of highly concentrated pepper spray. As the sky darkened on Sunday night, the armed riot police advanced gradually from Wanchai toward Admiralty. There were many protesters and spectators standing on the footbridge, and shouts echoed "Run! Riot police are coming! Run!". As the police progressed towards Central and Sheung Wan, a police officer unfurled a black banner that stated "Warning, Tear Smoke". At that point, shots of tear gas were fired, and protesters hastily distributed masks and bottles of water amongst themselves. The first few tear gas canisters were fired by armed riot police which were surrounded at around 6 pm on 28 September 2014, by the end of the day, the police force stated they had fired 87 cans of tear gas. The tear gas triggered even more anger and more citizens joining.

Hong Kong police had not used tear gas since the 2005 anti-globalisation protests. Back then, the Hong Kong public primarily acted as spectators of the saga. Those protests involved officers battling South Korean protesters during a World Trade Organisation ministerial conference.

Hearing this announcement, hundreds of students considered retreating. Meanwhile in Central, riot police started pushing their defence line towards Admiralty, firing significant amounts of tear gas without warning. Protesters retreated to Admiralty. Tens of thousands of citizens joined in the protest to condemn the firing of tear gas and built up new strongholds in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, the other two major financial areas of Hong Kong. The tear gas used has been identified by Campaign Against Arms Trade as being manufactured by Chemring Group.

29 September

Protesters begin a sit-in near midnight in Causeway Bay

With the closure of Admiralty Station and the use of tear gas, many citizens joined in the protests and went to other parts of the city, including Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok, and universities. At dawn after the night of tear gas, protesters that remained in the occupation area stayed more or less the same. Yet, police had changed their strategy, easing their defence level; some police negotiation cadres were at the occupation areas to negotiate with protesters to urge them to leave. A police spokesperson announced that 87 tear gas canisters were deployed, 89 protesters were arrested, 41 were injured, 12 being police.

On September 29, Carrie Lam announced that the second round of public consultations on political reform, originally planned to be completed by the end of the year, would be postponed. Also, the annual National Day fireworks celebration on October 1 was announced to be cancelled.

30 September

Protesters have been using FireChat, an app which relies on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to pass messages in a daisy-chain style. Micha Benoliel, the CEO of Open Garden (the developer of FireChat) has stated that there has been a huge surge in downloads from Hong Kong, with more than 100,000 new accounts created in less than 24 hours. Usage had spiked during protests in Taiwan and Iran earlier in the year, but never on this scale.

1 October

1 October is the National Day of the People's Republic of China. Joshua Wong and several Scholarism members attended the flag raising ceremony at the Golden Bauhinia Square. Scholarism promised to not state any slogans or make any gestures during the flag raising. Instead, the students faced away from the flag to show their discontent. Scholarism was allowed to enter the plaza without a full-body search, which was unusual since such procedures were carried out by security guards and police at the 2013 flag raising ceremony. Other protesters chanted slogans requesting Leung to step down.

Various scholars have been volunteering to give public lectures at the occupied sites.

Malware in the form of a phishing attack was conducted on the protesters, allegedly to monitor them, which was speculated to be from the programming and activist group Code4HK or from Chinese intelligence agencies.

2 October

On 2 October 2014, Beijing suspended visas for group tours to Hong Kong.

At the Hong Kong Government's Headquarters, also known as The Bastille of Hong Kong, the police made use of ambulances allegedly to bring weapons, like tear gas canisters, rubber bullets and machine guns, into the headquarters building. The police force had been seen providing food supply to officers on-duty, allegedly as an excuse to cover-up their operation.

Shortly before midnight, the Hong Kong Government responded an ultimatum to CY Leung demanding universal suffrage with unfiltered rights of candidate nomination. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam was to hold talks with student leaders about political reform at an unspecified date.

3 October

Police separate a clash between Occupy protesters and anti-Occupy groups in Mong Kok

On 3 October 2014 early morning, violence started to break out in Mong Kok, Kowloon and Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island. Groups of anti-Occupy Central activists launched protests on the protesters. The groups were composed of suspected triad members, pro-Beijing groups, and local merchants whose day-to-day trade activities had been severely affected by the Occupy movement. Anti-Occupy groups allegedly kicked protesters towards the ground and beat them. Fighting occurred between both groups. The Hong Kong Journalists Association complained that the group also attacked reporters in Mong Kok. A South China Morning Post reporter and a fellow protester were also hit. A student with a head injury complained that while men from anti-Occupy group beat him, the police did not intervene. Another was rushed out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on his face. The protesters accused the police of letting a free hand on the attackers by arresting them but releasing them shortly after, and denounced the anti-Occupy groups of being linked to the "triads".

Amnesty International released a statement condemning Hong Kong police for "[failing] in their duty to protect protesters from attacks" and stating that women were attacked, threatened, and sexually assaulted while police watched and did nothing.

In the aftermath of the scuffle, police arrested 19 and 18 were injured. As a response to the clash, student leaders of Hong Kong have halted plans to hold talks with the government, citing CY Leung's "insincerity and stealth tactics" as their main causes.

4 October

On 4 October 2014, Counter-protesters wearing blue ribbons marched in support of the police, with one counter-protester stating police did not response with excessive force. Occupy Central protesters had complained about excessive police force earlier in the week, but kept asking why the police did not enforce the law to protect the occupation protesters. Patrick Ko of the Voice of Loving Hong Kong group accused the protesters of having double standards, and suggested that had the police enforced the law, protesters would have been evicted from the streets they were occupying in the first place. Another anti-Occupy spokesperson Chan Ching-sum complained the continued occupation of roads was "destroy[ing] Hong Kong people's daily lives" and unrelated to democracy.

Throughout the day, police attempted to keep the occupy and anti-occupy camps separate, and repeatedly asked anti-occupy individuals as well as onlookers to leave when arguments between the two camps occurred. A small fight broke out around 1 in the afternoon, but was stopped by the police. Barricades and tents were re-erected early in the morning by occupy protesters.

In the afternoon, Chief Executive CY Leung insisted that government operations and schools affected by Occupy Central must resume on Monday.

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Cheung Man-Kwong claimed the occupy campaign was in a "very dangerous situation," and urged them to "sit down and talk, in order to avoid tragedy." The Federation of Students demanded the government explain the previous night's events before continuing talks and that they would continue to occupy streets in different areas, including Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, in contrast to occupy co-founder Benny Tai's request that protesters vacate Mong Kok.

The Pan-Democratic camp held a press conference criticizing the police response on the previous night, accusing it of being an orchestrated attack involving the triads. They also criticized the police presence as insufficient. In response, Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok denied accusations against the police and explained the reason for not using tear gas was due to the difference in geographical environment. Police further blamed protesters barricades in preventing reinforcements from arriving on the scene.

Organization

The protesters have received a great deal of international media coverage about their high degree of organisation, politeness, tidiness, and "staunch adherence to nonviolence", with the protesters being called "The World’s Politest" by Slate Magazine and "obsessively clean" by the BBC. Numerous stations were set up by the protesters as a base for food and water distribution, waste collection and medical care. They have kept the protest sites clean following nights of tear gas and pepper spray, with plastic bottles and paper even being separated from general refuse for recycling. Students boycotting classes have been doing their homework amid the protest. "Not one person" was seen sitting or standing on the grass surrounding The Cenotaph, Hong Kong's memorial in Central commemorating the dead of the two World Wars. Signs were placed all over the city apologising for any inconvenience caused, as well as denouncing any isolated incidents of vandalism.

Reactions

Domestic reactions

Public opinion towards police action

Director of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor Law Yuk-kai was dissatisfied with the unnecessary violence by the police, believing that students only broke into the Civic Square to sit-in peacefully, with no intentions of destroying government premises. He questioned the mobilisation of riot police while protesters staged no conflict, and the use of truncheons was not minimally violent as the police stated, because truncheons could severely harm protesters. In 27 September afternoon, Alan Leong Kah-kit of the Civic Party read aloud on stage outside the Central Government Complex a statement signed by pan-democrats. The statement wrote the police exercised unnecessary violence against protesters in 26 September evening, when the students were only trying to enter the Civic Square with no violent actions. The statement also urged the government to free all students. President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong Student Union Tommy Cheung Sau-yin said, all that the students did was raise their hands, and crowd management was well done, this student movement was however smeared as a violent action. He also criticised the police's attack on citizens.

Hong Kong government

Deputy Director of the Basic Law Committee Elsie Leung did not think the police used excessive violence, and believed the failure of dialogue between students and the Chief Executive did not justify a raid into the Civic Square. The Spokesperson for the Junior Police Officers Association also thought the police's measures to restore order were reasonable, and expressed regret towards the peaceful assembly's sudden escalation into a raid. Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok commented the police cleared the movement with restraint, only starting clearance when repeated warnings failed. He commented as well that the equipment was decided circumstantially, as the police must be prepared for self-defence. Members of the Defend Hong Kong Campaign gathered at MTR Admiralty station for assembly and demonstration in support of the police, criticising the HKFS and Scholarism's attempt at breaking into the Civic Square. Legislative Council Chairman Jasper Tsang Yok-sing disapproved of the attack at the Central Government Complex. He disagreed that the police were excessively violent, saying they would not use pepper spray illegitimately. The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce released a statement expressing regret towards the violent turn of events and supporting the police's efforts to maintain social stability.

Chinese government and media

On 28 September it emerged that Chinese government authorities had issued the following censorship directive: "All websites must immediately clear away information about Hong Kong students violently assaulting the government and about 'Occupy Central.' Promptly report any issues. Strictly manage interactive channels, and resolutely delete harmful information. This [directive] must be followed precisely."

On 29 September, the People's Daily, an official newspaper of the government of China, suggested that organisers of the Hong Kong protests learned their tactics from supporters of the Sunflower Student Movement in Taiwan. The opinion piece alleged that the organisers first sought support from the United Kingdom and the United States, then invited the Sunflower leaders to Hong Kong to share their experience.

On 1 October, the People's Daily said that the Beijing stance on Hong Kong's elections is "unshakeable" and legally valid. It stated that pro-democracy 'Occupy Central' protests are illegal and are hurting Hong Kong and warned, "If it continues, the consequences will be unimaginable." It concluded by stating, "If a few people are determined to go against the rule of law and provoke disturbances, in the end they will reap what they have sown." Some observers have remarked that the editorial is similar to the April 26 Editorial that led to the brutal crackdown in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. On the next day, the paper stated that Hong Kong residents should support authorities in their efforts to deploy police enforcement and restore the social order in Hong Kong, and warned of consequences towards Hong Kong's economy and China-US relations if the protests continue.

The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the White House on 1 October, in advance of President Obama's November 10-12 visit to Beijing, and met with the President and National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice. Wang Yi stated that public order was the first priority. The President and Ambassador Rice noted that the US is following developments in Hong Kong closely and expressed their hope that differences between Hong Kong authorities and protesters will be addressed peacefully. An official report of the meeting reaffirmed that "the United States has consistently supported the open system that is essential to Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, universal suffrage, and the aspirations of the Hong Kong people."

The People's Daily stated in a front page commentary on 4 October that the protests “could lead to deaths and injuries and other grave consequences.”

International reactions

Organisations

• United Nations – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that Ban "understands that this is a domestic matter, but urges all stakeholders to resolve any differences in a manner that is peaceful and safeguards democratic principles."
• World Uyghur Congress – President Rebiya Kadeer said the protests in Hong Kong "are very inspiring" to Xinjiang, and "if Hong Kong wins, it will benefit Uighurs as well, and then the Uighurs can strengthen their own movement."
• EU European Union – The EU expressed concern on Thursday over demonstrations in Hong Kong and called on all sides to stay calm as a protester deadline for the island's embattled leader to resign loomed. "We have been concerned about events in Hong Kong and are closely monitoring developments," a spokeswoman for the EU's diplomatic service said. "In the light of the ongoing demonstrations, we welcome the restraint shown by both sides. We urge all sides to continue to exercise this restraint."

States

• Australia – The Australian government issued travel advice recommending Australians to avoid protest sites in Hong Kong and take alternative routes through the city, while pro-democracy supporters across Australia held demonstrations in solidarity with Occupy Central protesters, including in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
• Canada – The Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Canada is "supportive of democratic development in Hong Kong and believe that the ongoing adherence to the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ policy has contributed to and remains essential for Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity." Moreover, the ministry said that Canada "reiterates its support for the implementation of universal suffrage for the election of the Chief Executive in 2017 and all members of the Legislative Council in 2020, in accordance with the Basic Law and the democratic aspirations of the Hong Kong people."
• France – The French Foreign Ministry stated that it was "closely following" street demonstrations in Hong Kong and stressed the protesters' right to march peacefully. "We are closely following the evolution of the situation and we reiterate our attachment to the right to demonstrate peacefully," Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal told at a news conference.
• Italy – The Italian Foreign Ministry released a statement, declaring it is "following what is happening in Hong Kong with attention" and is also "hoping that the local and Chinese authorities, in the face of the peaceful demands of many young people and citizens, show wisdom and listening skills." The Ministry also advocated "a common solution which also responds to the legitimate aspirations of those who ask for the respect of the Constitution adopted in 1997".
• Japan – Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko said at a press conference, "A democratic Hong Kong that is prosperous and stable will play an extremely important role for countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan. Our hope is that Hong Kong will be able to maintain its free and open system under (the principle of) 'one country, two systems".
• Philippines – The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a travel advisory warning Filipino nationals and workers to avoid demonstration sites in order to prevent fines and deportation, namely in: Central, Admiralty, Tim Me Avenue, Lung Wei Road, Causeway Bay, Mongkok, Wan Chai and the government headquarters in Tamar stating that, "to ensure your safety and avoid being inadvertently perceived as being part of the protest actions." The Foreign Affairs Department is closely monitoring the situation through its consulate in Hong Kong.
• Russia – Russian state media accused the protests as being another colour revolution similar to the Euromaidan and also alleged that the movement was covertly sponsored by both the United States and United Kingdom governments.
• Singapore – Singapore has issued a travel alert.
• Republic of China – President Ma Ying-jeou said, "We are worried about the developments in Hong Kong. We are very concerned about how it will affect Hong Kong's future as well as China's international image." Ma expressed his understanding and support for Hong Kong residents' demand for universal suffrage, and said the realisation of universal suffrage will be a win-win scenario for both Hong Kong and mainland China. The Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan also issued a statement, expressing the Party's support for pursuit of democracy in Hong Kong.

• United Kingdom – The United Kingdom said it was concerned by the heavy response in Hong Kong and that it is monitoring events carefully. Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday he was deeply concerned about clashes in Hong Kong between riot police and thousands of pro-democracy protesters. He said he feels a deep obligation as UK was the former sovereignty state of Hong Kong. "When we reached the agreement with China there were details of that agreement about the importance of giving the Hong Kong people a democratic future within this two systems approach that we were setting out with the Chinese so of course I am deeply concerned about what is happening and I hope this issue can be resolved," Cameron said. Deputy Prime Minister and Lord President of the Council Nick Clegg tweeted supporting the protests and acknowledging the UK's continued commitment to the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the "One Country, Two Systems" policy. The Foreign Office called on Hong Kong to uphold residents' rights to demonstrate, and stated that the best way to guarantee these rights is through transition to universal suffrage. The United Kingdom has also issued a travel alert.
• United States – White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, "The United States supports universal suffrage in Hong Kong in accordance with the Basic Law and we support the aspirations of the Hong Kong people. We believe in an open society, with the highest possible degree of autonomy and governed by the rule of law, is essential for Hong Kong's stability and prosperity." Earnest further stated the position of chief executive in Hong Kong would be given more credibility if the people could freely choose its candidates for the job. The United States has also issued a travel alert. U.S. President Barack Obama told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday that the United States was watching protests in Hong Kong closely and urged a peaceful solution to the issue. Wikileaks, however, has reported that the US State Department may have ties with the protesters.
• Vietnam - The Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Le Hai Binh said this is “internal affairs for China.”

Rallies and petitions

Rallies in support of the protests have occurred in locations including: Vancouver, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, London, Manchester, Perth, Canberra, Sydney, Toronto, Kaohsiung, Melbourne, Adelaide, Kuala Lumpur, Berlin, Mostar, Macau, Paris, Dublin, Seattle, Auckland, Copenhagen and Stockholm. A group of supporters in Ferguson, Missouri, where protests had recently occurred in response to the police shooting of an unarmed man, held up signs in Chinese to express their solidarity with Hong Kong demonstrators. Petitions in Australia and to the White House urging support for the protests have collected more than 500 and 183,000 signatures respectively. In Taipei, locals organised a solidarity protest, whose participants were reported to have scuffled with Taiwanese police after crowding a Hong Kong trade office. On 1 October, a gathering in Liberty Square drew over 10,000 people in support of the protests. In Singapore, hundreds of people turned up for the candlelight vigil held at Hong Lim Park on 1 October to show support for the demonstrators in the Occupy Central protest in Hong Kong.

Foreign media

The incident has captured the attention of American and European media after the clearance and arrests outside the Central Government Complex. BBC reported that the Hong Kong Police had cleared away democracy activists. According to the officials of Occupy Central, the police used pepper spray and unnecessary violence against protesters without prior warning. In addition, CNN released a news report stating that the police responded towards protesters with pepper spray who tried to cross to the Central Government Complex, which subsequently resulted in the student leaders protesting peacefully at the Civic Square being arrested.

International support for the movement is increasing, and the movement itself is taking shape in a more structured manner, even with its own logo for the protest. The 'Umbrella revolution' symbol is being shared on Twitter throughout the world.

Even though most of the international media have reported favourably on the protests, arguably part of a greater movement towards democracy in the relatively authoritarian People's Republic of China, there have been allegations that the United States has helped organise and promote the protests. Some websites have made similar allegations. These include claims that the National Endowment for Democracy, a US governmental organisation, and related organisations were used by the US State Department to finance and incite protests. The US Government has however denied such claims, although most western media sources do say that the United States at the very least supports the protesters.

Gallery

• Supply station
  Supply station
• 
  Protesters block a main road
• 
  Umbrellas used as defence
• Protesters block MTR exit
  Protesters block MTR exit
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  Queensway is occupied
• 
  Red Cross volunteers offer medical service
• 
  Protesters outside Admiralty Centre
• 
  Protesters standing under the Central Government Offices
• 
  Hong Kong police using tear gas to disperse the protesters
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  Demonstrators erecting fences to prevent police clearance
• 
  The tent city on 1 October

See also

• Hong Kong 1956 riots
• Hong Kong 1967 Leftist riots
• Hong Kong 1981 riots

External links

• "Hong Kong: Live Coverage of Occupy Central". South China Morning Post. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
• US Openly Approves Hong Kong Chaos it Created