Hong Kong protesters flock into streets

Thousands of anti-election law protesters have flooded Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district, calling for election reforms.

The protesters regrouped on Saturday, two days after talks between protest leaders and the government were cancelled.

The demonstrators said they would keep up the demonstrations until their demands are met.

Two student groups issued an open letter, urging Chinese President Xi Jinping to consider political reforms that would give them more say in electing their next leader.

The protesters blamed the ongoing protests on unpopular Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

“Students walked out of classes and are occupying different places now because Leung and others have repeatedly ignored what the people want,” read the letter.

On Friday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in the German capital Berlin that “social stability” in Hong Kong can be preserved.

“I am convinced that Hong Kongers, with their wisdom, are in a position — and that the [Hong Kong] government has the authority — to preserve the prosperity of the city and also social stability,” Li stated.

Meanwhile, Chinese state media have blamed the US for being behind the protests. The claim has been rejected by the State Department.

The protests were triggered after China refused to allow open nominations for the city’s next chief executive in 2017, forcing the voters to choose from a list of two or three candidates selected by a nominating committee.

China has said it will introduce universal suffrage for the city’s 2017 election, but wants a committee to approve the candidates.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. The financial hub has enjoyed substantial political autonomy since 1997, when its leadership returned to China after about a century of British colonial rule.

MSM/NN/AS