Monday, September 22, 2014

Thousands of Hong Kong students start week-long boycott



Students gather during a strike at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on 22 September 2014
The BBC's Juliana Liu: "All the action is happening here at the Chinese University of Hong Kong"
Thousands of students in Hong Kong have converged on a university campus to begin a week-long boycott of classes.
They are protesting against China's stance on electoral reform in the territory. Students from more than two dozen institutions are taking part.
It is a prelude to a larger protest on 1 October planned by pro-democracy group Occupy Central.
Beijing has rejected open nominations for the city's leadership poll, dashing hopes of those seeking full democracy.
The boycott saw thousands of students gathering at 14:00 local time (07:00 BST) for a sit-in at the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus in Sha Tin, several kilometres north of the city centre.
Most are wearing white T-shirts with yellow ribbons - a colour adopted by pro-democracy activists.
Student activists are also organising a series of rallies and public lectures in a park near government offices later in the week.
RTHK reported that teenage activists were standing outside secondary schools early on Monday morning distributing yellow ribbons to students arriving for class and urging them to join the boycott.
About 400 academics and non-teaching staff are also taking part in support of the students, according to the South China Morning Post.
Students gather during a strike at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on 22 September 2014 Thousands of students have converged on the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus
Students gather and sing freedom songs during a strike at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on 22 September 2014. Activists say China's ruling on Hong Kong's elections does not mean greater democracy
Campaign ahead A larger pro-democracy protest is due to take place next month. Occupy Central has pledged to stage a sit-in at Hong Kong's financial district, which critics have said may shut down the area.
The issue of how Hong Kong can choose its leader gripped the city in recent months, sparking protests from both the pro-democracy and pro-Beijing camps.
The Chinese government has promised direct elections for Hong Kong's leader, the chief executive, by 2017.
But in August, it ruled that voters would only have a choice from a list of two or three candidates selected by a nominating committee.
Democracy activists say China will use this committee to screen out candidates it disapproves of.
Pro-Beijing activists, meanwhile, believe the other camp is disrupting Hong Kong's peace and stability.
The protesting students say Beijing's decision does not amount to the greater democracy Hong Kong was promised when it was handed back from Britain to China in 1997.
But the BBC's China editor Carrie Gracie says the communist leadership in Beijing is turning firmly against ideas of political reform at home and has no interest in encouraging noisy critics.
Students of The University of Hong Kong gather in front of a banner with Chinese characters that read ''Democracy in Hong Kong'' at its Sun Yat-sen Place at campus on 19 September 2014 in Hong Kong. Students also held protest over the weekend in the lead-up to the boycott
Hong Kong Federation of Students Union, a Hong Kong student organisation, announces its planned strike by university students on 7 September 2014 in Hong Kong The Hong Kong Federation of Students is one of several student activist groups organising the boycott
Are you in Hong Kong? What is your reaction to the student boycott? Email your experience to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk










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