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Hong Kong Occupy Protesters Staying Put After Deadline
The 'Occupy' movement campsite area outside the HSBC bank headquarters in Hong Kong late on Aug. 27, 2012. (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)
Hong Kong protesters, described as the last vestiges of the Occupy movement in Asia, said they will not budge from a parking lot at the headquarters of HSBC bank after a judge ruled earlier this month that they must leave.
Many of the protests and demonstrations spawned by the Occupy Wall Street movement last fall have fizzled out around the U.S. and the rest of the world, but there were still small amounts of people taking part in the protests in Hong Kong’s Central district.
The deadline to leave passed at around 9 p.m. on Monday night local time, and around 40 people attended a final concert, reported Radio Television Hong Kong.
The few people who remained at the site were not cleared out by police, who have not yet acted, but HSBC posted a notice asking the Occupiers to leave.
In a statement, HSBC said that the “re-possession of the property will be set in motion and enforced by the court bailiff as a judicial matter, and any non-compliance by any of the occupants may subject themselves to sanctions,” according to the New York Times.
The approximately half-dozen remaining activists who were maintaining the Occupy site were rarely seen there while a small number of homeless and mentally ill people frequented the spot more often, the newspaper reported.
One activist, Alan Chiu Chun-ming, who lost his IT job three months ago, had been staying at the site for the past three months.
He told the Hong Kong Standard that he is unsure what will happen once authorities try to clear out the Occupy space, adding that the demonstrators will not appeal against the court’s decision because they lack the funds to do so.
“I don’t have any idea at this moment,” Chiu told the newspaper, referring to the protesters’ next moves. “We will see what happens as I have no choice.”
He said approximately 20 to 30 people returned to the site on Friday and stayed over the weekend.
In the U.S. last fall and winter, police cleared out Occupy protesters and their campsites. The frigid winter months also forced demonstrators to leave the sites, but Hong Kong’s weather is much more accommodating, as it lies relatively close to the equator.
The Hong Kong Occupy site is also located inside an enclosed space, which is owned by HSBC but is used as a public walkway, which protected demonstrators from the elements.
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2012-08-28 20:52:47
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