UCA News
Contribute

No end in sight for Hong Kong protests after talks fail‎

Netizens mock government negotiators with cartoons
No end in sight for Hong Kong protests after talks fail‎

Cartoons and graphics mocking Hong Kong's government negotiators have popped up all over the internet. In the above cartoon, Ray Lau, the undersecretary of constitutional and mainland affairs, is depicted as hiding inside one of the city's famed orange trash cans (Credit: Facebook)

Published: October 22, 2014 06:21 AM GMT
Updated: October 21, 2014 08:12 PM GMT

Hong Kong student leaders said Wednesday that they may not take part in further talks with the government after accusing city authorities of failing to make any meaningful offers to end weeks of mass rallies.

The comments are a blow to the city's Beijing-backed leaders who had expressed hopes for fresh rounds of talks after meeting face-to-face with students on Tuesday night for the first time.

The negotiations are widely seen as the only way to end nearly a month of protests calling for full democracy in the southern Chinese city without a police crackdown or further violence.

But the first formal talks on Tuesday night made little headway with students calling the government "vague" in its commitment to finding a genuine compromise.

"About whether there will be talks in the future this is something that isn't decided," Hong Kong Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow told reporters Wednesday morning.

"The government has to come up with some way to solve this problem, but what they are offering does not have any practical content," Chow said, adding protesters will not leave the streets any time soon.

Protesters plan to march from their main camp to the residence of Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying early this afternoon.

Both sides are at loggerheads over how the city's next leader should be chosen. Protesters want to nominate and vote for candidates in 2017. However, Beijing ruled in August that only those vetted by a loyalist committee would be allowed to stand — something protesters dismiss as "fake democracy".

During talks, government negotiators insisted Beijing would never agree to civil nomination.

But they also made a series of conciliatory offers including a promise to brief mainland officials on recent events and suggesting both sides could set up a "platform" to discuss further political reform beyond 2017.

Student leaders remain unimpressed, saying the government has offered nothing concrete. They called on officials to give a clearer indication of what their proposals actually entail.

"The government should, as soon as possible by the end of this week, say what the report (to Beijing) would include and detail how the new platform can really solve the problems we have now," Joshua Wong, leader of student movement Scholarism told reporters.

Observers hope the talks, which were abruptly cancelled earlier this month and then resurrected after recent outbreaks of violence between protesters and police, will help find some sort of face-saving compromise for both sides.

If talks are abandoned, many fear a return to violent scuffles seen late last week that saw dozens injured after protesters battled with police as they tried to clear barricades.

Netizens mock government negotiators

Hong Kong government negotiators who sat down to crunch talks with student leaders have become figures of online derision with netizens mocking them as empty vases, garbage bins and Teletubbies.

In one graphic that quickly went viral the government's lead negotiator, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, was pictured as a decorative empty vase while her colleague Raymond Tam was replaced by a cassette player.

Another showed the negotiating team dressed up as characters from the British children television series the "Teletubbies".

Ray Lau, the undersecretary of constitutional and mainland affairs, came in for a mauling as netizens noticed he had remained silent throughout the tense two-hour discussions.

In one popular meme a picture of a solemn-looking Lau was overlayed with the title of the popular country ballad: "You say it best, when you say nothing at all".

Many cartoons portrayed Lau as hiding inside Hong Kong's signature-orange garbage bins.

Anger palpable

The ongoing protests have led to angry confrontations between local residents fed up with the disruption caused.

On Wednesday afternoon a fresh attempt was made by opponents of the protesters to dismantle barriers in Mongkok, a district which has previously seen frequent violent scuffles.

A handful of taxis were also parked on a nearby street protesting against the barricades.

A number of businesses — including a taxi driver association — successfully applied to the High Court to have injunctions brought against the protesters but given the camps are already considered illegal it remains to be seen what effect those injunctions will have.

Meanwhile in a video posted Wednesday on the Facebook page for the Digital Broadcasting Corporation radio channel, an angry citizen was recorded berating student leader Alex Chow.

"Your mother gave birth to you by mistake, she should have strangled you to death after she gave birth," the woman shouted at Chow as he waited at a bus station.

"You've studied so much and you're causing harm to Hong Kong. You think China will listen to what you're saying?" she continued. AFP

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia