Benny Tai, a law
professor, started Occupy Central almost two years ago and propounded a
philosophy of non-violent civil disobedience. One hour after turning himself in for
taking part in illegal street protests in Hong Kong, Benny Tai
walked free from the police station.
Police officers told Tai and his two co-founders of Occupy
Central With Love and Peace they weren’t wanted for crimes. The
three had proposed mass street occupations to force China to
accede to demands for free elections, which precipitated the
student-led protests that started in late September. Tai and his followers have been relegated to supporting
roles in the protests that have become the biggest challenge to
China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong since the return of the
former British colony in 1997. His call yesterday for student
leaders to end the demonstrations, which have seen public
support fade amid violent clashes with police, has been ignored.
“Their act is with an intention of ending the occupation
without further conflict, but I doubt whether things can go as
they plan,” Hung Ho-fung, an associate professor of sociology
at Johns Hopkins University, who studies China and Hong Kong.
Tai and his group “were never in control,” Hung said. Tai said the police took down their personal details, and
asked them to sign a form declaring which crimes they have
committed. After ticking a box for unauthorized public assembly,
the three men left the police station.
“Later we may be arrested or prosecuted for more serious
offenses,” Tai told reporters after leaving the police station.
“Let’s wait and see.”H.K.'s Lau Says Will Surrender to Police at Later Stage. Tai, a law professor, started Occupy Central almost two
years ago and propounded a philosophy of non-violent civil
disobedience. After China’s ruling in August that candidates for
the city’s leadership election in 2017 would be vetted, student
protesters took to the streets, prompting Tai’s group to join
and start their long-planned sit-in.
The demonstrations drew at least 100,000 people in the
early days, more than 10 times the number Tai had forecast. The
protests are now fizzling amid fading public support and
disagreements over tactics. “The police will follow up and conduct an investigation
based on the information provided by those who turned themselves
in,” it said in a statement today. As of 4:30 p.m., 24 people
had surrendered themselves, it said.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying yesterday told
protesters their fight is in vain and urged them to leave, as
some student leaders announced a hunger strike after attempts to
surround government offices on the night of Nov.30 failed. Police used pepper spray and water hoses to force back the
protesters, with dozens injured on both sides. The city was
forced to shut the government offices for part of the day. The
police arrested at least 40 people.
Hong Kong Democratic Party Chairman Emily Lau today joined
those calling for the protests to end after the violent clashes. “We are losing public support, both here and in the
international community,” Lau said in an interview with
Bloomberg TV’s Rishaad Salamat. “I think that’s very stupid.
For weeks, people supported us a lot because it was so peaceful.
But now, if we turn violent and if we attract police brutality,
it’s crazy, so it’s time for a rethink.” The court on Dec. 1 granted an injunction to All China
Express, a bus company, for the removal of barricades on parts
of the roads protesters have occupied outside government offices
in the Admiralty district. The new injunction will allow bailiffs, backed by police,
to clear barriers blocking parts of Connaught Road, Harcourt
Road and Cotton Tree Drive to permit traffic to flow, the judge
ruled. Those who impede bailiffs will be liable for criminal
contempt charges, according to the court ruling.
Last week, bailiffs and police removed protesters from Mong
Kok, one of the three sites, through similar injunctions,
leading to the biggest number of arrests in a two-day period
since the demonstrations started.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Fion Li in Hong Kong at
fli59@bloomberg.net;
Dominic Lau in Hong Kong at
dlau92@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Andrew Davis at
abdavis@bloomberg.net
Tan Hwee Ann, Neil Western
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