By Chester Yung, Joanne Chiu and Prudence Ho
HONG KONG--A Hong Kong official said the government for now
won't attempt to clear areas that have been occupied by protesters
for weeks, but didn't rule out a tougher approach to end the
impasse eventually.
"Politically, logistically, timing-wise, clearing [the protest
site] is impossible now," the official said. "But in the long run,
who knows?"
The government and protest student leaders stuck to their
positions in the first talks between the two sides earlier in the
week. The government offered to submit an official report to
Beijing that reflects the protesters' views, but said it won't ask
China's leadership to revoke its election plan for the city. No new
talks are scheduled.
"The ball is now in the students' court. We really have nothing
more that we can offer to them," said the government official.
Student leaders said there has been no progress on a new date
for talks.
The government official's comments came a day after fresh
scuffles broke out in the working-class district of Mong Kok
between protesters and people who oppose the demonstrations.
An artist who was trying to prevent barricades from being
removed at a busy intersection was shown bleeding on local
television after allegedly being slashed across the face by a man
using a sharp tool.
In the evening, a man in his 50s carrying a bag of what
witnesses said smelled like paint thinner tried to set fire to a
pile of supplies for protesters with a lighter, while shouting
threats. The man was quickly subdued by protesters and later
detained by the police.
Several people were hit by bags thrown from a building that
appeared to contain a mixture of red paint and feces. Police said
on Thursday afternoon that in all 11 people had been arrested in
connection with incidents in Mong Kok.
While clashes have continued to flare up in Mong Kok, the main
protest site near the government complex in the city's Admiralty
district has been peaceful after a night of clashes last week when
police allegedly dragged a handcuffed protester around a corner and
beat him. The officers have been suspended.
Police cleared the Mong Kok protest site, across Victoria
Harbour from Admiralty, last week only to see protesters reoccupy
it during a weekend of violent confrontations.
The government official said the government's tactic of waiting
for public opinion to turn against the protesters and put pressure
on them to end their occupation doesn't appear to be working.
"When the protesters are willing to ignore court injunctions,
what role can public opinion play?" the official said.
According to the first public-opinion poll released since the
protest began, support for the protesters has increased rather than
declined. The survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong showed
that 38% of respondents supported the protesters in October, up
from 31% in September. The portion of the population that doesn't
support the protesters dropped to 36% from 46% in September.
But the poll of 802 people was taken just over a week after
police fired tear gas at protesters on Sept. 28; support may have
declined since then as the inconveniences of blocked roads weigh on
the public.
In a sign of the frustration among many in Hong Kong's business
community, a senior J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. banker walking to
lunch on Wednesday interrupted a live roundtable webcast on Hong
Kong's pro-democracy protests to express his frustration over the
continued street blockage.
"Hong Kong has many people who are against Occupy Central," said
David Lau, who heads the U.S. investment bank's China corporate
finance division.
He spoke for nearly two minutes, ignoring attempts by the
program's host to stop him. "People are trying to get to work, and
you've blocked off the streets. That's not democratic either, is
it?" said Mr. Lau, who told The Wall Street Journal he wasn't aware
the program was being streamed live.
J.P. Morgan, whose main Hong Kong offices are just blocks away
from the Admiralty protest site, said Thursday that Mr. Lau's
comments were his own personal opinions and don't represent the
bank's views.
Write to Chester Yung at chester.yung@wsj.com, Joanne Chiu at
joanne.chiu@wsj.com and Prudence Ho at prudence.ho@wsj.com
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