MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - Hundreds of people are still protesting in Hong Kong on Wednesday as the eleventh day of mass rallies unfolds, South China Morning Post reports.
The newspaper notes that Tuesday night did not see extensive fights and followed a peaceful course on Wednesday morning, with hundreds of protesters spending the night in tents and sleeping bags outside Hong Kong's key government departments.
According to the paper, Lester Shum, the deputy leader of the Federation of Students, one of the protests' activist groups, told democracy supporters that negotiations between students and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will take place on Friday, admitting that the agenda does not address the students" requirements directly.
The demonstrators expressed no real optimism that the upcoming dialogue would compel the authorities to meet their requirements, but are hoping, however, that it could help calm the political tensions in the country.
The Occupy Central with Love and Peace protests began on September 27 with demonstrators speaking out against the Chinese government's plans to control the 2017 Hong Kong election. Protesters claim Beijing has gone back on its pledge to allow universal suffrage in Hong Kong, which was promised a high degree of autonomy when it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997.
On the night of October 4, the streets of Hong Kong were crammed with thousands of people taking to the streets after the city administration issued an ultimatum to clear out before October 6.
Earlier on October 3, the peaceful demonstrations turned violent when opponents of the protests started assaulting the crowd. More than 50 people were injured, according to local health officials. At least 19 people have been arrested following the clashes.
