Hong Kong financial firms brace for disruptions as protests intensify

"The hk people really want a say because economically they have been suffering inequality at the societal level"

maybe not just the hk people are suffering... :O

The open statement of Joseph Yam to the students contain the HARD TRUTH.

任志刚促学生“回头是岸” Joseph Yam advice students to turn back and they will see the shore
2014年10月29日

（联合早报网讯）香港金管局前主席任志刚发表简短文章，担心占领运动持续，香港将失去法治、民不聊生。

据明报报道，以下为文章全文：

这样下去 (If you continue in this course)

这样下去，香港不会有普选，真的、假的、理想的、现实的、实事求是的都不会有！

这样下去，香港走的路恐怕会丧失法治，民不聊生！

香港的经济繁荣，是建基于能有效扮演内地与外地的中间人角色，在金融领域尤甚。

中间人不合作、靠不住、添烦添乱，内地一定会减低依赖、另起炉灶、两手准备、减少在改革开放的过程中对香港的政策倾斜。

这样下去，香港经济会内伤！

这样下去，有赖繁荣经济提供的就业机会、民生改善、财政健全、货币稳定将会大大削弱！

同学们，《基本法》保障香港在一国两制下五十年不变。这样下去，到2047年香港肯定会变！我没有思考会怎样变，因为如果还未死，到时我将会是100岁了！

同学们，到2047年你们可能是50岁吧！这是人生担子最重的年龄，要干活，要照顾上一代和下一代，还要适应2047年可能发生的巨变。这是令人担心啊！

我关心的、亲爱的同学们，回头是岸啊！

在背后支持同学们的朋友们，要为同学们的长远利益着想啊！

任志刚 (Joseph Yam)

so if one looks at this angle hong kong people are unwitting pawns in this game and If indeed foreigner intelligence agencies are inciting the movement in HK they are probably using HK people movement to probe for soft spots or weakness in beijing authority, hence beijing's uncompromising stance.

http://thediplomat.com/2014/10/xi-jinpin...on-taiwan/

If we believe the rhetoric, Uyghur “terrorists” from Xinjiang have been acting on behalf of foreign organizations and Taiwanese “separatists” are pawns of American and/or Japanese forces. Meanwhile the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong, which has brought part of the metropolis to a standstill, is said to have simultaneously been funded, scripted, fomented, and influenced by a plethora of disparate foreign groups, including the U.S.-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Apple Daily owner Jimmy Lai, the CIA, British agents, the Oslo Freedom Forum, and out-of-favor Taiwanese politicians. Even American jazz musician Kenny G, who briefly visited a protest site last week, was sniped at by Chinese authorities.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...tests.html

Latest update on the protesters...

Thousands denounce HSBC board member's likening of Hong Kong people to freed slaves

HONG KONG - Thousands have signed an online petition denouncing reported comments by an HSBC Holdings board member in which she likened Hong Kong protesters' demands for democracy to the emancipation of slaves.

Laura Cha, who is also a member of Hong Kong's policy-making Executive Council, chairwoman of the city's Financial Services Development Council and a member of China's parliament, reportedly made the comments at an event in Paris.

"American slaves were liberated in 1861 but did not get voting rights until 107 years later, so why can't Hong Kong wait for a while?" the Standard newspaper on Thursday quoted Cha as saying, referring to demands for free elections in the former British colony.

Cha could not immediately be reached for comment.

HSBC's Asia-Pacific chief Peter Wong declined to comment on her remarks, while the Financial Services Development Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The comments triggered outrage on social media and nearly 5,000 people had signed the petition by Friday afternoon.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/world/thousan...eed-slaves

It is a real test to Hong Kong police force....

Reputation of Hong Kong police at stake in protests

HONG KONG — The police in Hong Kong have been pushed and pulled in all directions during weeks of pro-democracy street protests, obeying orders to clear protest sites, allow the sites to stay put, push back demonstrators and protect them from attacks.

With no end to the stand-off in sight, the police, long known as “Asia’s finest”, risk being cast as enforcers for an unpopular central government in Beijing or failing in their duty to ensure the city remains one of the safest in the world.

“Your friendly ‘bobby on the beat’ image ... has been taken for granted in Hong Kong,” said Mr Steve Tsang, head of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham. “If the police start actually using force, then all those things that have been built up ... will go out of the window.”

In signs of goodwill, the police have been seen washing out protesters’ eyes with bottled water after using pepper spray, while demonstrators have used their trademark yellow umbrellas to protect officers in sub-tropical downpours.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/ch...e-protests

Xi backs Leung in handling of HK protests

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping has voiced support for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his government’s efforts to maintain order in the Asian financial centre, which has been engulfed by pro-democracy protests now in their seventh week, Chinese state media reported.

Beijing “fully affirms and supports” Hong Kong’s efforts to maintain social order and safeguard the rule of law, which is a key foundation for the city’s long-term stability and prosperity, Mr Xi told Mr Leung in a meeting in the Chinese capital yesterday, said China’s state news agency Xinhua.

Mr Leung said he was told by Mr Xi that China supported the city’s democratic development “within the law”.

“Occupy Central has impacted Hong Kong’s rule of law and severely affected social order. But I am confident that under the support of all sectors in Hong Kong, the special administrative government can handle the Occupy Central and related events by its own ability and laws,” Mr Leung said soon after meeting Mr Xi ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China.
http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/ch...k-protests

Hong Kong is preparing for the Nov 17, as part of mutual understandings with President Xi?

Hong Kong official warns protesters face arrest

HONG KONG — Pro-democracy protesters camped out on main streets in Hong Kong for more than six weeks face arrest after a court authorized police to help bailiffs clear them from occupation sites, a senior government official warned today (Nov 11).

Chief Secretary Carrie Lam also said there’s no room for further dialogue with the student-led protesters, whom she said had hardened their position, raising the prospect of further violence as the government struggles to end the mostly peaceful standoff.

Ms Lam’s remarks came a day after Hong Kong’s High Court extended injunctions requiring protesters to leave two of the three protest sites while also authorising bailiffs to seek police assistance to clear the areas.

Ms Lam said that “the police will give full assistance, including making arrests where necessary”, to enforce the injunctions.

She urged protesters to “voluntarily and peacefully” leave the occupied areas so that roads and building entrances can be reopened.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/ch...ace-arrest

The Hong Kong's government started to enforce the ruling...

Hong Kong rejects talks after court rules against protest
By Bloomberg / Bloomberg | November 11, 2014 : 1:38 PM MYT

HONG KONG (Nov 11): Hong Kong’s government has ruled out talks with pro-democracy protesters, and is preparing to enforce a court ruling to clear the streets, the city’s No. 2 official said.

Student leaders made “unrealistic” demands in the first round of talks last month, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam told reporters today.

There’s no need for protest leaders to seek direct talks with Chinese officials in Beijing, she said.

Lam’s comments indicate a firmer stance by the government after a court yesterday upheld injunctions against some protest sites, potentially setting the stage for renewed efforts to forcibly clear the streets.
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...st-protest

Protesters are frustrating and looking for new theme...

HK protesters now turn attention to British consulate

HONG KONG — Defying the authorities’ repeated calls to leave the rally sites, pro-democracy protesters are instead planning to occupy roads surrounding the city’s British consulate to signal their deep displeasure over London’s lack of support for their movement.

The city’s government has ramped up pressure on protesters, urging them to go home after more than six weeks of demonstrations that have brought parts of Hong Kong to a standstill.

Barricades are set to be cleared in the next few days, with thousands of police officers put on standby over the weekend.

But protesters are unperturbed. Some have pasted huge posters around the protest sites announcing the consulate occupation on Nov 21 and a Facebook page for the event has more than 700 likes.

Splashed across the posters are slogans such as “China breaches the joint declaration, UK government respond now”, with the pro-democracy movement’s trademark umbrella symbol emblazoned with the British flag.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/ch...-consulate