Hong Kong bailiffs begin clearing main pro-democracy protest camp
This is, for sure, definitely not the end of the movement, Alex Chow, a leader from the Hong Kong Federation of Students, told The Telegraph. This mornings act is only part of the movement.
As police pushed slowly towards the heart of the protest camp where the so-called Umbrella Movement began in late September tearful protesters began clearing the multicoloured tents in which some have lived for weeks.
It is my birthday today but it is also the saddest birthday in my life, said Benjamin Ng, a 44-year-old church worker. I feel very conflicted about what to do today I want to sit down and be arrested but I know my family worry about me and I also want to study in the UK at some point so I had better not be arrested.
Rose Tang, a student activist during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests said she had flown in from New York to witness the Hong Kong demonstrations up close.
This has been the most special camping trip I have ever been on, Ms Tang said.
It has been a meaningful journey, said Connie Mak, a 20-year-old student protester. We are only moving to the next stage of resistance.
The Umbrella Movement began in late September after calls for Beijing to give Hong Kong citizens a greater say in the election of their leader triggered street protests and clashes with police. The movement, which at its peak drew more than 100,000 people onto the streets, was named after the instrument protesters used to shield themselves from police pepper spray and tear gas.
Seventy-five days after the movement began, students have been unable to squeeze concessions out of officials in either Beijing or Hong Kong. Pro-Beijing media have described the campaign as an abject failure.
The government had been prudent in responding to the illegal movement and had ultimately won, said Zou Pingxue, a Chinese law professor who has been widely quoted criticising protestors in the mainland media.
The only success of this movement that I can think of is that it has taught residents of Hong Kong that trying to pursue democracy out of the normal legal framework is not real democracy, added Prof Zou, from Shenzhen University. It is impossible to attain the highest level [of democracy] in just one step.
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Hong Kong bailiffs begin clearing main pro-democracy protest camp