‘No further talks may be held in HK’

Leaders of Hong Kong’s anti-election law student protests say they may not take part in further talks with the government, a day after negotiations were held between the two sides.

On Wednesday, representatives of student protesters said demonstrations would continue until their demands were met and they were allowed to determine who could run for future elections.

“About whether there will be talks in the future, this is something that isn’t decided,” Secretary General of Hong Kong Federation of Students Alex Chow said.

The students also slammed talks held on October 21, accusing the authorities of failing to make any meaningful offers to end the ongoing impasse.

“Hong Kong’s young people have already made lots of sacrifices, including their time, and risking arrest and their futures,” the group’s deputy secretary general, Lester Shum, said.

Over the past weeks, Hong Kong has been the scene of protests with protesters blocking key parts of the city for more than 3 weeks.

The anti-election law protesters are opposed to an election law introduced by China. Under the law, the people of Hong Kong will have to elect their next leader from a list of Beijing-vetted candidates in 2017.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. The financial hub has enjoyed substantial political autonomy since 1997, when its leadership returned to China after about a century of British colonial rule.

SZH/AB/SS