Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong have marched to the office of China’s top representative in the city.
Activists are angry about a decision by China to screen candidates for Hong Kong’s 2017 leadership election. They want direct talks with Beijing. Continue reading
Student activist Alex Chow said the leader’s comments were “irresponsible”, and said Mr Leung had not provided any evidence to support his claim.
Pro-democracy demonstrations have paralysed parts of Hong Kong for the past three weeks.
The protesters are calling for fully democratic elections in Hong Kong. Continue reading
On the same day that Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying signed an undisclosed agreement worth £4 million (HK$50 million) as part of his former company’s sale to listed Australian engineering firm UGL, a second offer arrived to buy the company that exceeded UGL’s bid by £90 million.
The existence of the second bid is likely to raise further questions about Leung’s conduct in 2011 during his final days as a DTZ board member, and in particular, whether he was able to provide impartial advice on the merits of the second offer given that he stood to gain HK$50 million if the sale to UGL went through. Continue reading
As Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying denies he did anything wrong in receiving a $6.4 million payment as part of a noncompete agreement just before he took office, a banker’s comment that Mr. Leung will face calls to step down has drawn attention.
David Eldon–the former chairman of HSBC Holdings HSBA.LN 0.00% PLC’s Asia operation who is now nonexecutive chairman of HSBC’s Middle East unit—said on his blog: “Whatever the truth in this particular matter is, I am pretty sure that it will be blown up to the extent that, legal or not, C.Y. Leung will face calls to step down.”
Mr. Eldon said in his blogpost on Thursday titled “Hong Kong: The Light, the Dark and the Long Term” that such pressure could come from Hong Kong itself as well as from Beijing. Continue reading
Today, Leung Chun-ying described the Occupy Movement as a mass movement that has spun out of control. In fact, it is our government that is out of control – a government that fires tear-gas at unarmed citizens and unilaterally terminated dialogue with the students.
Leung was ambiguous about whether it was his decision to fire the tear-gas. On the one hand, he said it was the decision of the commander on the scene, on the other hand he said he participated in the overall situation. What was his specific role? Could it be that he decided there should be a forceful crackdown, and then left it to the commanding officer to decide the specifics? How can he, as the leader of our accountable officials, try to muddle through without explaining the truth to the public, without punishing officials guilty of dereliction of duty? If the government refuses to account for its actions, we must assume Leung Chun-ying was solely responsible, and that he should take on the responsibility wholly, by stepping down.
HONG KONG — The standoff between Hong Kong’s government and protesters who have taken control of vital avenues entered its third week on Sunday with no signs of a resolution, as the student leaders of the demonstration appealed to President Xi Jinping of China to accept their position, which was then flatly rejected by Hong Kong’s leader.
Huge swaths of some of the world’s most expensive real estate remained blocked by hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators on Sunday. In the past weeks, their numbers have swollen into the thousands each evening. Many parents have brought their children to witness a real-life civics lesson amid the surreal sight of a tent city expanding day by day on an eight-lane road in the heart of Asia’s most important financial center.
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters have an “almost zero chance” of changing Beijing’s stance and securing free elections, the city’s embattled chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, has told a Sunday TV show.
Demonstrators calling for Beijing to grant full democracy to the former British colony have paralysed parts of Hong Kong for more than two weeks, causing widespread disruption and prompting clashes between protesters and residents who opposed road blockades.
Tents on a blocked road leading to Hong Kong’s Central financial district on Sunday. Reuters
HONG KONG — The standoff between Hong Kong’s government and pro-democracy protesters intensified Thursday as the democrats demanded that the city’s top official be impeached over a multimillion-dollar payment from an Australian company and the government pulled out of talks with the protesters.
The talks, which were to have begun Friday, were the only active avenue for resolving a dispute that has led to sit-in demonstrations that have closed roads and disrupted life for nearly two weeks in Asia’s most important financial center.
The cancellation of the talks came after an afternoon news conference by the protest groups and their political allies in which they pledged to continue the protests and start a new phase of civil disobedience to maintain pressure on the government.
Hong Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, secretly received millions of pounds in payments from an Australian company after he took office, according to media reports.
The engineering company UGL agreed to pay Leung £4m in relation to its acquisition of DTZ Holdings, an insolvent property services firm that had employed Leung as its Asia Pacific director before he took office, Melbourne-based The Age reported on Wednesday.
HONG KONG—The man who governs Asia’s most important financial center spends most of his time these days holed up in his official residence—a former British governor’s mansion—with stewards catering to him as he tries to negotiate an end to protests that have gripped Hong Kong for 11 days.
The city government, led by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, appeared to be headed for confrontation with protesters as recently as Sunday night, after he publicly demanded that streets be cleared for the workday Monday morning.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/behind-a-gate-hong-kong-chief-tries-to-make-a-deal-1412621422
OCLP respects the students’ position that they will concentrate on discussing political reform at the negotiating table. However, we reiterate our view that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is the one responsible for the stalemate, and that he must step down. In order to achieve real universal suffrage, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee must withdraw its decision on Hong Kong’s political reform.
OCLP Secretariat
Press Release by Occupy Central with Love & Peace (issued on 04:15, 29.9.2014)
Statement by Occupy Central with Love and Peace in Response to the Chief Executive
Since Hong Kong citizens began to use civil disobedience as a means to struggle for universal suffrage, the Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has refused to enter direct dialogue with the public. Instead, he has unilaterally spoken on television to criticize the Occupy Central movement. The Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) movement strongly condemns this, and believe Leung ‘s non-response to the people’s demands has driven Hong Kong into a crisis of disorder. OCLP strongly demands that Leung Chun-ying resign to create a space for political reform and to defuse the crisis in our society.
Tony Cheung, Danny Lee | 16 August 2014 | South China Morning Post
Chief executive says his signing of the petition against the Occupy Central civil disobedience movement is a matter of law, not politics
Julie Zhu | 15 August 2014 | Financial Times
Hong Kong’s top politician has backed a petition designed to counter Occupy Central ahead of a planned march on Sunday opposing the demands of the pro-democracy movement, which is expected to attract crowds of more than 100,000.
Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong chief executive, on Friday took the unusual step of calling the media to witness his signing the petition for the Alliance for Peace and Democracy, which is behind Sunday’s rally. The petition reads: “I oppose violence. I oppose Occupy Central. I support peace in Hong Kong. I support democracy in Hong Kong.”
Tony Cheung, Gary Cheung | 25 June 2014 | South China Morning Post
“Significant progress” has been achieved on tackling the city’s housing shortage and fighting poverty, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said yesterday as he announced the release of an annual report covering his second year as leader.
But it failed to impress lawmakers from across the political spectrum, who accused Leung of only reporting good news.
Tony Cheung | 24 June 2014 | South China Morning Post
In a rare diversion from Beijing’s script, city’s leader says it is wrong to pit the people of Hong Kong and the rest of China against each other
James Pomfret & Nikki Sun | 10 June 2014 | Reuters
China warned Hong Kong on Tuesday that there were limits to its freedom and it should adhere strictly to the law ahead of a planned pro-democracy protest that could end up shutting down part of the financial hub’s business district.
As the most liberal city on Chinese soil, the former British colony has grappled with Beijing since its return to Chinese rule in 1997 to preserve its freedoms and capitalist way of life under a “one-country, two-systems” formula.
Over the past year, however, a push by democracy activists to hold protests, as part of a campaign for the right to choose candidates for a poll in 2017 to elect Hong Kong’s next leader, has stoked friction and unnerved Beijing leaders fearful of an opposition democrat taking the city’s highest office.
Occupy Central with Love and Peace 