By Isabella Steger, Jason Chow and Jacky Wong
Pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong grew on Monday afternoon as
supporters joined protesters in three locations in the city, while
riot police pulled back after failing to disperse crowds overnight
with tear gas and pepper spray.
The protests took on an air of spontaneity Monday, growing as
the day progressed despite the hot sun. New protesters joined tired
marchers who had battled police the night before and by the
afternoon, crowds swelled in three important districts in the
city--Admiralty, where the rallies began and the shopping districts
of Mong Kok and Causeway Bay.
Newcomers said they came to support protesters on the ground.
There appeared to be no central organizing authority. Student
leaders and the heads of Occupy Central didn't offer plans or
strategies. In the absence of direction and with police effectively
in the background, protesters sat on usually traffic-filled streets
as shoppers and workers went about their business.
Police scheduled a news conference for Monday afternoon to
discuss their failed efforts to quell the protests over the
previous few days. On Sunday afternoon, police were trying to
contain one protest site when they closed it to newcomers. That
spread the marchers across the district surrounding government
headquarters, blocking traffic on one of the city's busiest roads.
Then the use of tear gas and pepper spray spread the protesters to
three distinct areas, making it harder for police to control.
The weekend escalation of the protests--centered on Beijing's
decision to impose limits on how Hong Kong elects its
leader--threatens to strain relations with Beijing, which controls
Hong Kong under an arrangement labeled one country, two systems.
Beijing has taken a hard line over the brewing dispute over
democracy in Hong Kong, issuing warnings to protest organizers and
pushing business leaders to support its stance, allowing universal
suffrage but only allowing people to vote for preapproved
candidates.
The protests were largely driven by university students who
boycotted classes last week and stepped up their confrontation with
authorities over the weekend. It has exposed a deep generational
and economic divide in the city, and is poised to shape its
relationship with mainland China for years to come.
The protests put Hong Kong's government, which supports
Beijing's election plan, in a difficult position between its
disgruntled citizens and China. In a news conference Sunday, the
city's leaders called the protests illegal. A few hours later,
police began using tear gas.
On Monday morning, roads were still blocked by crowds, leaving
normally packed streets empty, and some schools and offices were
closed.
More than 200 buses headed to the city's main business districts
were suspended or rerouted forcing workers to walk a mile or two to
work in the late summer heat. Normally plentiful taxis were scarce.
The subway system was running normally, though a few exits were
closed in certain neighborhoods.
Protesters blocked the tracks of Hong Kong's iconic tram system
with heavy planters in Causeway Bay, one of the city's main
shopping districts. But their presence didn't deter shoppers, who
walked around the protesters to get into the giant Sogo department
story.
The protests showed signs of affecting Hong Kong's financial
industry as banks closed branches in the affected areas and the
Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city's de facto central bank,
stood ready to inject liquidity into the banking system.
Still, much of Hong Kong's business district was operating as
normal, with suited professionals streaming in and out of office
buildings, despite the continuing presence of several hundred
protesters.
Monday afternoon, Hong Kong's government called on protesters to
vacate at least some of the roads to "allow the passage of
emergency vehicles and the partial resumption of public transport
services." Its statement urged people there to stay calm and
disperse peacefully.
In a city where residents line up for elevators and buses, an
appreciation of order and cleanliness prevailed. Protesters helped
clean up trash on the streets left after overnight clashes. At the
main protest site at the city's government headquarters, students
sorted plastic bottles for recycling even as they wore goggles and
plastic wrap and held umbrellas to protect against pepper
spray.
Donations of everything from umbrellas to snacks for protesters
piled up on Monday at various stations in the Admiralty and
Causeway Bay neighborhoods. Ray Chung, an accountant, brought a box
of bottled water and some bread to support protesters on his lunch
hour.
"I can't go on strike as my firm is too small," he said. "So I
do this as a way of showing my support."
It was unclear whether the organizers could build on the
momentum. Activists have a good record of pushing back against
Beijing, including two years ago when student protesters defeated a
plan to use a Beijing approved "patriotic curriculum" in schools.
But they haven't succeeded on an issue as high-profile as this one.
Just a few weeks ago, the pro-democracy movement had appeared to
fizzle in the face of staunch opposition from Beijing, the city's
government and from many local business people.
The protests threaten to weaken Hong Kong's economy, which has
suffered as China has slowed. This week is a holiday in China and
one of the big shopping weeks in Hong Kong and the protests
threatened to keep tourists away.
On Monday morning, 17 banks, including HSBC Holdings PLC and
Standard Chartered Bank PLC, had closed 29 branches or offices
across the city. Police blocked major roads into the city's central
business districts forcing workers to walk to their offices.
BlackRock Inc., the world's largest money manager, told any
nonessential Hong Kong employees to work from home today, according
to people familiar with the firm. BlackRock, along with Goldman
Sachs and other financial firms, is located in Hong Kong's Cheung
Kong Center office tower, in the midst of a main protest area.
Accounting firm KPMG, located in nearby Causeway Bay and Central
neighborhoods, told all employees to work from home Monday.
Still, Fitch Ratings said it doesn't expect the protests to have
an impact on Hong Kong's rating in the short term, reiterating its
double-A-plus rating on the city with a stable outlook.
"The events of the past 24 hours don't significantly affect Hong
Kong's ratings," said Andrew Colquhoun, head of Asia-Pacific
Sovereigns at Fitch Ratings, in a statement.
Students have led the push for democracy in Hong Kong in recent
months, tapping into their generation's frustration over soaring
housing costs, an economy dominated by large conglomerates and
competition from mainland Chinese for services such as education
and health care.
The city's younger generation hasn't benefited from China's
economic rise to the same extent as older residents, many of who
cashed in as factory owners and real-estate investors, and who now
oppose disrupting the city to fight over political issues.
University students boycotted classes and held rallies
culminating in a confrontation with police Friday night when
students climbed a fence at the government complex. Police arrested
dozens of students and used pepper spray to push back the
crowd.
The televised clashes between students and police prompted large
crowds to come out to support the students.
Early Sunday morning, leaders of the city's best-known
pro-democracy group, Occupy Central, joined students at the city's
government headquarters. Occupy Central has vowed to disrupt the
city's central business district, and both groups share a desire
for more democracy. But the appearance of the Occupy leaders, who
are mostly middle-aged university professors and veteran members of
the city's democratic parties, stood in contrast to the students
who had been camped out at the site for two days.
The deployment of riot police is extremely rare in Hong Kong,
known for its largely peaceful and orderly protests.
The last time local police fired tear gas against protesters was
during the World Trade Organization summit held in the city in
December 2005. Few locals were among the protesters, many of whom
were South Korean farmers who attacked police with bamboo poles and
tried to break into a meeting of trade ministers from around the
world. Other examples that involved riot police in recent years
were mainly scuffles at prisons and refugee camps.
At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Hong Kong Chief Executive
Leung Chun-ying urged people not to join the protests, which he
termed illegal.
China struck an uncompromising position. A spokesman for the
government's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office called the protests
illegal on Sunday and said Beijing supported the preservation of
order.
The protests came at the start of an important holiday week in
China, when Hong Kong traditionally sees thousands of mainland
tourists cross the border for shopping sprees. If the tourists are
scared away, it could be a big blow to Hong Kong's already sluggish
economy.
Ned Levin in Hong Kong and Te-Ping Chen in Beijing contributed
to this article.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires