Umbrellas are starting to regroup.
On Friday, thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Hong Kong once again. In the past week, the crowd of democracy seeking citizens dwindled from tens of thousands to a few hundred and many doubted the future of the protests.
Leaders of student organizations in the protest and other activist groups called for a return to the streets to protest. The Hong Kong government has still refused to meet with the protesters. Carrie Lam, Chief Secretary of Administration in Hong Kong, refused to meet with the protesters after a meeting was scheduled for Friday.
Lam called off the meeting after the student leaders called for a revival of the protest. She described their actions as having “seriously undermined” the efforts for communication between the two sides.
“I truly regret that we will not be able to have a meeting tomorrow which will produce any constructive outcome,” she said.
After the cancellation, hundreds of students gathered Friday night to rejuvenate the demonstration.
“If they do not give a just, reasonable answer to all the occupiers, there is no reason to persuade people to retreat,” said Alex Chow from the Federation of Students.
Many believe that the mainland government will not budge and allow this change to electoral policy. Some believe that it is only a matter of time before the tired protesters hang up their umbrellas and go back to their studies and work.
Others, however, argue that the protest goes beyond its immediate effects. Some student protesters view their demonstration as a “seed” that will mature into democracy. Student protesters can be seen carrying school material and studying in the midst of their protest.
Mr. Leung has not met any of the protesters demands and has refused to talk with them. He has recently been accused by some for taking millions of dollars from an Australian engineering company through a contract for the city’s subway system. Protesters demand his immediate resignation and the freedom to choose and elect their own candidates for Hong Kong leadership in 2017.
