China's Communist Party came out forcefully Thursday to denounce the democracy demonstrations that have engulfed Hong Kong for five days, saying the "illegal" rallies are threatening to drag the territory into "chaos."
Some protest organizers, meanwhile, dug in their heels, vowing to ratchet up their civil disobedience campaign unless the territory's Beijing-backed chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, stepped down by midnight.
Just ahead of the deadline, Leung declared at a news conference: "I won't resign because I need to complete the task of political reform and to realize 'one person, one vote' in the next election for chief executive in 2017."
"As long as protesters do not challenge [or] storm the police cordon, we can tolerate their sit-in on the premises of the government office compound," added Leung, who had previously refused to quit.
Carrie Lam, chief secretary of Hong Kong, attended the same news conference, where it was announced that she would meet with the Hong Kong Federation of Students "as soon as possible and in the near future" to discuss a way out of the conflict. The timing and location of the meeting was not mentioned. Protesters had been pressing for a public dialogue with the media in attendance.
Outside Leung's offices, where several thousand protesters had gathered ahead of the deadline, some expressed frustration with his statement, saying it appeared to be a stalling tactic.
"I feel like the last week has been a waste. I feel like deep down this nonviolence will not work," said Pat Lam, a hotel management student.
Before the news conference, one protest leader had urged his group's followers not to rush police lines around government facilities.
"We don't want to challenge the police's defense because any bloodshed and conflict will only detract from our fight for one person, one vote," said Lester Shum, deputy secretary-general for the Federation of Students.
Protesters had been set on edge earlier when police were seen carrying what appeared to be anti-riot equipment into government headquarters.
Some student leaders have vowed to occupy government buildings if Leung didn't quit, but it was far from clear if they intended to immediately do so after the deadline -- and if any action would be at government headquarters or elsewhere. Police warned that occupying the sites would bring a strong response.
"We don't know what will happen," said a female volunteer offering umbrellas to passersby as small protection against tear gas.
Many in the crowd also came equipped with goggles and masks. But with the thermometer at 84 degrees at 9:45 p.m. local time, few people were wearing more protective gear, such as plastic raincoats.
Even as the tension continues, many observers still believe that the two sides must -- and will -- find a way to begin a dialogue. Too much is at risk economically and politically both for Hong Kongers and mainland Chinese leaders to allow the situation to end any way but peacefully, they say.
But the question now is: Who can talk to whom, and where would a conversation begin? The most vocal protest organizers have declared Leung, the chief executive, too toxic to deal with, but Beijing has continued to voice strong support for him, and no other figure in the administration has stepped forward as a conciliator.
And from the government's side, the protest movement seems to lack a forceful leader capable of bringing the demonstrations to an end -- even if some talks happened and a compromise was reached.
Though there are three main entities rallying people to the streets -- two student organizations and another movement called Occupy Central With Peace and Love -- the protests have taken on a diffuse, spontaneous nature and many of the demonstrators say they have no particular allegiance to any of the three groups.
On Thursday, when some men wearing Occupy Central shirts showed up at one protest site and attempted to mediate a dispute, some in the crowd yelled, "Who are you?" The three groups vowed Thursday to collaborate more closely.
"Because no one can represent all the crowd, I don't think the government is ready to send out a representative to really openly negotiate with whoever the representative of the protesters is," said Ma Ngok, an associate professor of government at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "I think there will be some form of dialogue through informal channels ... but this is going to drag on and not be decided in one week or so."
Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a formula known as "one country, two systems." Demonstrators are protesting an August decision by central government authorities that would require a pro-Beijing committee to screen candidates in the territory's first direct elections for chief executive in 2017.
Communist Party leaders in Beijing appear to have calculated that it is to their advantage to talk tough and bide their time -- hoping that the protests lose steam or public support.
An editorial in the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily on Thursday said the protests were a "blatant violation of Hong Kong laws."
And the state-run China News Service carried an interview with Chen Zuoer, one of the mainland's top negotiators of the 1997 handover, denouncing the demonstrations as a "Hong Kong version of a color revolution." The movement, he warned, is "quite dangerous but is going to end in failure sooner or later."
Nevertheless, the demonstrations entered their fifth day Thursday, buoyed by the fact that it was the second day of a two-day public holiday in the territory. Many people had the day off and were free to participate in the sit-ins that have paralyzed key commercial districts.
But exhaustion could soon set in. Hong Kong is supposed to go back to work Friday, and strains have started to show on local businesses, some of which say they've taken a hit as tourism from the mainland has dropped off.
The mainland's National Tourism Administration has told tour operators not to organize groups to visit Hong Kong -- a move Hong Kong travel industry officials described as unprecedented. Individual mainland vacationers, however, apparently still can apply for travel documents as usual.
Activists will be under pressure in the coming days not only to keep motivating crowds to take to the streets but to ensure that wider public opinion does not turn against them as the economic impact grows and some inconveniences -- such as rerouted bus lines -- continue. A number of schools will remain closed Friday, authorities said.
But if businesses and the stock market continue to take major hits, the blowback could hit the government as well as the protest movement, some analysts say. On Monday and Tuesday, Hong Kong's stock market dropped by a total of about 3.5%.
"The stock market has reacted to the political events negatively, and if that continues, then the business elites in Hong Kong will apply some pressure on the government to make some concessions to the protesters," said Sonny Lo, co-director of the center for governance and citizenship at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. "But this is only one possibility."
Added Dixon Ming Sing, associate professor of social science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: "If it stretches much longer and gets more support -- that's what Beijing dreads most. If it allows it to continue, Hong Kong's reputation as a stable financial center will be put in doubt. But ... if this ends in dramatic violence, that's another nightmare Beijing does not want to see."
Various political players signaled Thursday that they were trying to get some dialogue going.
Regina Ip -- chairwoman of the New People's Party and one of 14 nonofficial members of a council that advises Leung, the chief executive -- called for an "open televised discussion" between protest organizers and party members.
While stressing she was not acting on Leung's behalf, Ip told local media that as a political party leader and a member of the Executive Council, "I have more freedom to reflect opinions to the chief executive ... this open discussion could help remove barriers for future talks." Ip said she had not received any immediate reply to her proposal.
Meanwhile, Jasper Tsang, chief of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, said he had met Wednesday with two key backers of the protest movement -- Democratic Party founding chairman Martin Lee and local media mogul Jimmy Lai.
According to Tsang, the three discussed how to begin to resolve the standoff over the protests, though he later said that no breakthroughs had been reached.
Hong Kongers have managed to press Beijing into concessions in the past by taking to the streets.
In 2003, hundreds of thousands of people marched to protest an anti-subversion bill, proposed by Hong Kong's government and backed by Beijing; many believed it would restrict freedom of speech. The legislation was shelved.
In 2012, tens of thousands of students and parents demonstrated against a "patriotic education" plan put forth by Leung, forcing him to pull back. Many of the students who participated in those rallies are out on the streets now.
"The pushback on that was massive, and [the government] withdrew," said Clayton Dube, executive director of the USC U.S.-China Institute. "So the people of Hong Kong learned that if they stood up and stood up in numbers, Beijing would likely as not back down. That's particularly the lesson young people learned over the last couple years."
And though Beijing has voiced strong support so far for Leung, that could change. In 2005, unpopular chief executive Tung Chee-hwa resigned after losing the confidence of Beijing.
"The pressure is not big enough yet for the central government to pull the plug on C.Y. Leung yet," Ma said. "But I think if the movement drags on for one, two or three weeks and they believe removing him is the easiest way to alleviate the tension, then they may consider that."
Though the 2003 and 2012 protests forced Beijing to quickly retreat, Ma said this time is different because the protests are much bigger and less controlled and the demands -- to rescind the decision on the 2017 election rules and allow a wide-open nomination of candidates -- are much greater.
Chinese leaders need more time to figure out how to respond, he said.
"This time, the public is asking for major institutional change, which Beijing is not willing to grant. So this is less likely for them. It is more difficult to make them agree to this change."
It is natural, then, Ma said, that Beijing's first response is to be defensive.
"I think it's too soon for Beijing to know yet what to do -- usually they need more time. If they believe that a crackdown is not the solution, then what is good for them?" he said. "They have to assess the possibilities. They also have to test what the other elements in Hong Kong think, including the capitalists and other pro-Beijing figures."
"It may take some more time," he predicted. "I don't think this will be solved within one week."
Follow @JulieMakLAT for news from China
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times9:25 a.m.: This post has been updated with an earlier statement by a protest leader urging followers not to rush police lines.
9:15 a.m.: This post has been updated with protesters expressing disappointment at the Hong Kong chief executive's refusal to step down.
8:55 a.m.: This post has been updated with the news conference by Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung chun-ying.
7:05 a.m.: This post has been updated with more description of the scene outside the offices of Hong Kong's chief executive.
6:14 a.m.: This post has been updated with a report that police were seen carrying what appeared to be anti-riot equipment into Hong Kong government headquarters, and with news that three main protest groups have vowed to collaborate more closely.
This post was originally published at 4:06 a.m.
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