Hong Kong protesters scrap talks with government after clashes

Hong Kong protesters scrap talks with government after clashes

HONG KONG - Hong Kong student leaders have called off talks with the government aimed at bringing an end to mass pro-democracy rallies, accusing police of failing to act over violent attacks on their protest camps by opposition crowds that included Beijing supporters.

Ugly scenes in several districts Friday saw protesters who had staged a peaceful week-long sit-in left injured and bloodied after groups of angry opponents, some waving Chinese flags, started clashes while police struggled to maintain control.

Hong Kong's main student union said it was walking away from negotiations after police appeared to ignore what it claimed was orchestrated violence carried out by paid thugs from "triad" criminal gangs sent to stir up trouble.

"There is no other option but to call off talks," said the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS), one of several groups driving a campaign for free elections that has brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets of the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

"The government and police turned a blind eye to violent acts by the triads targeting peaceful Occupy protesters," the union added, referring to Occupy Central, another prominent group.

Hong Kong's embattled leader Leung Chun-ying, facing calls to resign but firmly backed by Beijing, had promised students talks with a top civil servant in an attempt to end the stand-off that has posed the most serious challenge to China's ruling Communist Party in years.

Human rights group Amnesty International late Friday blasted police who it said "stood by and did nothing" to protect protesters, saying it had first-hand witness accounts of women being physically attacked in the densely packed shopping districts of Causeway Bay and Mong Kok.

"The police inaction tonight is shameful. The authorities have failed in their duty to protect peaceful protesters who came under attack," said Mabel Au, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong.

Protesters pointed to their contrasting treatment by police on Sunday night which saw pepper spray and tear gas fired at the peaceful crowds.

"The police are so unfair, these people attack us and they do nothing," Jenny Cheung, a demonstrator, told AFP. "We protest peacefully and the police use tear smoke and pepper spray, when we are attacked the police do nothing."

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Police defend response

Police said there had been two arrests and defended their response to the chaotic scenes, with senior superintendent Kong Man-keung telling reporters the force had "deployed a lot of manpower to control the situation". But protesters were furious at the relative lack of arrests, saying pro-Beijing thugs had been freely allowed to attack their camps.

Crowds in Mong Kok chanted "Bring out the handcuffs!" late into the night.

Police officers were seen escorting a man from the scene with his face covered in blood. There were widespread allegations of sexual assault in the densely packed crowds, with three girls wearing plastic rain ponchos seen being bundled into a police van in tears after apparently being assaulted at the Causeway Bay protest.

"I urgently want to express to all citizens, no matter what attitude you have towards Occupy (Central), you still have to remain calm, and not use violence or disrupt order under any situation," Leung said in a televised message.

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The opposition crowds ebbed away into the night, leaving about 5,000 protesters chanting for the resignation of Leung, who they view as a pro-Beijing stooge.

While the United States, Europe and Japan have all expressed their concern at the scenes playing out in the key Asian financial hub, China's Communist authorities insisted Friday there is "no room to make concessions on important principles".

The protests were triggered by China's announcement in August that while Hong Kongers can vote for their next leader in 2017, only candidates vetted by Beijing will be able to stand - a decision dismissed as "fake democracy" by campaigners.

'Beat them to death'

Demonstrators had set a deadline of midnight Thursday for chief executive Leung to resign and for Beijing to abandon the proposals to vet candidates. Leung refused to quit, but in a dramatic televised appearance shortly before the deadline he appointed his deputy to sit down with the HKFS, which has been at the vanguard of the protests.

Mistrust was rife that Leung was merely trying to buy time in the hope that the campaign will lose momentum, with Hong Kong residents tiring of the disruption caused by the mass sit-ins.

Friday's clashes broke out as the city returned to work after a two-day public holiday.

"I don't support Occupy Central. We have to work and make money. Occupy is just a game," said a construction worker who gave his name as Mr Lee. Individuals from both sides pushed and shoved each other as water bottles were thrown, and one anti-Occupy protester chanted: "Beat them to death, good job police!" Shop owners have told of a massive downturn in business after days of demonstrations.

Hong Kong Finance Secretary John Tsang warned that if the unrest persists, the city's status as one of the world's most important trading hubs could be under threat. "If this situation were to persist we're going to see some damage to our system," he told a press conference.

He added that extended protests could seriously dent "confidence in the market system in Hong Kong - that would bring permanent damage that we could not afford".

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