After a long night spent surrounding the offices of Hong Kong’s top leader, anticipating a police action that never arrived, protesters on Friday morning wondered what to do next — with many sensing that the authorities are simply waiting for the protests to wane.
“We’ve discussed that all night,” as one protester, Tsui Kit, 24, put it, when asked what the protesters will do if Beijing continues to do nothing. “But we still don’t know what to do,” she said, as the sun rose, waking the thousands of sleeping people lying on sheets of cardboard or on the bare concrete of Admiralty district, the ongoing hotbed of the demonstrations.
The tens of thousands of protestors who have convened in Hong Kong’s streets over the past week have expressed a single overarching goal: Beijing must rescind an Aug. 31 edict that says Hong Kong residents can only elect their top leader in 2017 from a list of candidates curated by an electoral committee plump with Beijing loyalists. Hong Kongers say this arrangement stacks the cards against Hong Kong’s interests being represented.
Other, shorter-term goals, including the resignation of the head of government Leung Chun-ying, are seen an intermediate steps that might whittle the numbers on the streets — but just for a short time, if universal suffrage does not follow soon afterward.
Yet how to achieve those goals is increasingly uncertain.
“Beijing seems to have decided, Well, we’ll just let them rot in the streets, and soon people will get bored and angry with them,” says Michael Davis, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong. “The protesters are going to need a long-term strategy if they’re going to deal with that.”
But so far, small schisms have appeared among protesters over how to answer the official waiting game: at twilight on Friday, university student Kenny Chung, 20, said that some in the group surrounding Leung’s office wanted to block yet another major artery — this time Lung Wo Road, a six-lane seafront drive. If it was closed, any vehicles wishing to enter the Central business district from the east would have to use Kennedy Road, a two-lane, colonial-era thoroughfare quite unsuited to heavy traffic.
“It would affect our economic system and our society,” said Chung, shaking his head.
The South China Morning Post reported that some demonstrations succeeded in partially blocking the road for a short time in the wee hours of the morning, but Joshua Wong, a 17-year-old key organizer of the protests, exhorted them to stop, and other protesters formed a human chain to keep the roads free.
“This is a war for public support,” Wong said. “We must show Leung that we have the support of the masses on our side.”
By the start of the working day, the road was clear for traffic, and a handful of volunteers were directing vehicles with glow sticks. One of the traffic controllers gently bowed to each of the cars that passed.
Indeed, protesters on the streets Friday were keenly aware that losing public support could sink their cause, especially as the demonstrations continue to snarl traffic and keep some businesses closed.
“We need to get more people to support us,” said Mak Ching-yin, 24, a recent university graduate, hovering near a police barricade, a medical mask dangling from around his neck. “If we get larger, we can’t be ignored.”
Several protesters also said they were hopeful that something good might come of a planned meeting between top government officials and protest leaders. On Thursday night, as Leung batted back calls to step down, he said his chief secretary, Carrie Lam, would meet with protest organizers. So far, pro-democracy groups Occupy Central and the Hong Kong Federation of Students have accepted the top leader’s meeting proposal, but no time or date has been set.
“We are waiting for the conversation to happen,” says Mart Kwok, 28, a social worker. “We will see if the government will compromise with us.”
But the only compromise he would be willing to accept, he said, is a leader directly elected by universal suffrage, calling it “a basic line that we won’t give up.”
Jimmy Lai, publisher of Hong Kong’s mass circulation Apple Daily newspaper and a prominent democracy campaigner, said that the movement had nothing to fear from disappointing talks with the government.
“Each disappointment energizes this movement,” he said. “The worst thing that could happen is that nothing is happening, and we lose energy, and people go home.”
— Video by Helen Regan / Hong Kong
Photographs of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution
Protesters sit behind a government building as the standoff continues Oct. 5, 2014 in Hong Kong.Paula Bronstein—Getty ImagesProtesters walk along the protest site on a quiet night as the standoff continues Oct. 5, 2014 in Hong Kong.Paula Bronstein—Getty ImagesA pro-democracy protester sleeps on a concrete road divider on a street outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on Oct. 5, 2014 in Hong Kong.Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesPeople try to prevent a man from removing a barricade set up by pro-democracy protesters blocking a main road at Hong Kong's shopping Mongkok district Oct. 4, 2014. Bobby Yip—ReutersPolicemen try to get a man to let go of a fence guarded by pro-democracy demonstrators in an occupied area of Hong Kong on Oct. 3, 2014.Philippe Lopez—AFP/Getty ImagesA local resident breaks through police lines and attempts to reach the pro-democracy tent on Oct. 3, 2014 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesA student protester is injured after being pulled off and hit by residents and pro-Beijing supporters while local police are escorting him out of the protest area in Kowloon's crowded Mong Kok district, Oct. 3, 2014 in Hong Kong. Wong Maye-E—APStudents and pro-democracy activists leave the protest site as local police hold back local residents and pro-government supporters on Oct. 3, 2014 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesA man walks past a barricade as protesters continue to block areas outside the government headquarters building in Hong Kong, Oct. 3, 2014.Carlos Barria—ReutersPro-democracy demonstration in Hong Kong, Sept. 3, 2014.James Nachtwey for TIMEStudent protesters raise their hands to show their non-violent intentions as they resist during change of shift for local police but backed down after being reassured they could reoccupy the pavement outside the government compoundís gate, Oct. 2, 2014 in Hong Kong. Wong Maye-E—APPolice stand guard outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on Oct. 2, 2014, as pro-democracy protesters remain gathered for the fifth day in a push for free elections of the city's leader. Philippe Lopez—AFP/Getty ImagesA taxi driver gives a thumbs up to pro-democracy protesters as he drives past the protest site in front of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's office, early on Oct. 3, 2014 in Hong Kong. Wong Maye-E—APProtesters sleep on the road outside the Police Headquarters building on Oct. 2, 2014 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesStudents from various universities continue their protest in the streets of Hong Kong, Oct. 1, 2014.Nicole Tung for TIMEA protester holding an umbrella stands on the street close to the Hong Kong Government Complex on Oct. 1, 2014 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesJoshua Wong, leader of the student movement, delivers a speech as protesters block the main street to the financial Central district, outside the government headquarters building in Hong Kong Oct. 1, 2014. Carlos Barria—ReutersProtesters react as Joshua Wong, leader of the student movement, speaks to the crowd outside the government headquarters building in Hong Kong Oct. 1, 2014.Carlos Barria—ReutersTens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators, some waving lights from mobile phones, fill the streets in the main finical district of Hong Kong, Oct. 1, 2014. Wally Santana—APA protester sleeps on the streets outside the Hong Kong Government Complex at sunrise on Sept. 30, 2014 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Paula Bronstein—Getty ImagesPro-democracy demonstrators rest during a protest in Hong Kong on Sept. 30, 2014.Philippe Lopez—AFP/Getty ImagesProtesters relax on the streets outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on Sept. 30, 2014 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesA pro-democracy protestor speaks to the crowd in front of the government offices in Hong Kong on Sept. 30, 2014.Anthony Wallace—AFP/Getty ImagesA couple wearing protective masks and ponchos walk through Admiralty district as part of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong on Sept. 30, 2014. Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty ImagesProtesters sing songs and wave their cell phones in the air after a massive thunderstorm passed over outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on Sept. 30, 2014 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesPro-democracy demonstrators gather for the third night in Hong Kong on Sept. 30, 2014.Philippe Lopez—AFP/Getty ImagesA businessman stands in front of a road block set up by protesters at the main street of the financial Central district in Hong Kong Sept. 29, 2014. Tyrone Siu—ReutersA protester raises his arms as police officers try to disperse the crowd near the government headquarters in Hong Kong, Sept. 29, 2014. Carlos Barria—ReutersUmbrellas used to shield demonstrators from pepper spray and the sun are displayed during a pro-democracy protest near the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 29, 2014. Dale De La Rey—AFP/Getty ImagesResidents on scooters bring supplies to protesters camped outside the headquarters of Legislative Council during protests in Hong Kong on Sept. 29, 2014.Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty ImagesPolice walk down a stairwell as pro-democracy demonstrators gather for a rally outside the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 29, 2014. Dale de la Rey—AFP/Getty ImagesProtesters gather in the streets outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on Sept. 29, 2014 in Hong Kong.Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesPro-democracy demonstrators hold up their mobile phones during a protest near the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 29, 2014. Dale De la Rey—AFP/Getty ImagesPro-democracy demonstrators are sprayed with pepper spray during clashes with police officers during a rally near the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 28, 2014. Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty ImagesA pro-democracy demonstrator wearing a mask and goggles to protect against pepper spray and tear gas gestures during a rally near the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 28, 2014. Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty ImagesRiot police launch tear gas into the crowd as thousands of protesters surround the government headquarters in Hong Kong, Sept. 28, 2014.Wally Santana—APA protester walks in tear gas fired by riot policemen after thousands of protesters blocking the main street to the financial Central district outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong, Sept. 28, 2014. ReutersA pro-democracy protester confronts the police during a demonstration in Hong Kong on Sept. 28, 2014.Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty ImagesPro-democracy protesters demonstrate in Hong Kong on Sept. 28, 2014. Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty ImagesPolicemen confronts protesters in Hong Kong during a demonstration on Sept. 28, 2014. Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty ImagesRiot police fire tear gas on student protesters occupying streets surrounding the government headquarters in Hong Kong, early on Sept. 29, 2014. Wally Santana—APA pro-democracy demonstrator pours water over a man's face after police fired tear gas at protesters during a rally near the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 28, 2014. Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty ImagesPro-democracy protesters put their hands up in the air in front of the police in Hong Kong on Sept. 28, 2014Alex Ogle—AFP/Getty ImagesSome of the protesters sleep as they block the main street to the financial Central district outside the government headquarters, in Hong Kong, Sept, 29, 2014.Carlos Barria—ReutersPolicemen rest following pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, early on Sept. 29, 2014.Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty Images