Hong Kong pro-democracy activists launch "Occupy Central" movement

Police used tear gas, batons and pepper spray against pro-democracy demonstrators in central Hong Kong Sunday, as tens of thousands joined a civil disobedience movement that seeks unfettered elections for the city’s top job.The demonstrations, which were originally supposed to be confined to the Central district, continued into Monday morning and spread to various neighborhoods, including across the iconic harbor in Kowloon. Tear gas even billowed into the city’s famously efficient subway system.Protesters chanted democracy slogans and sang songs by legendary 1980s Hong Kong rock band Beyond. Many were apparently drawn onto the street after becoming incensed that the police had fired tear gas at the crowds. Some 78 people were arrested, say police. “This protest is definitely outside of anyone’s expectations,” says Maya Wang, a researcher for Human Rights Watch based in Hong Kong. “Both the government in Hong Kong and in Beijing are going to have a huge headache on their hands.”

Occupy Central with Peace and Love, as the protest is officially known, aims to foment democratic change by paralyzing the heart of this freewheeling financial hub. It was originally slated to begin Wednesday, but an aligned student demonstration Friday gathered such momentum that its leaders brought the launch forward. Hundreds of students remained at the government complex Sunday while police kept a tight watch. At issue is the restrictive electoral reform plan Beijing prescribes for the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The National People's Congress Standing Committee, Beijing's core legislative body overseeing Hong Kong's political development, passed a resolution on Aug. 31 that restricts candidacy in Hong Kong's 2017 chief executive election. According to the resolution, a 1,200-strong Nominating Committee controlled by Beijing will pick two to three candidates before putting them forward for a vote by some 5 million eligible voters. The democracy camp described the provisions as "sham universal suffrage" that bars candidates deemed unacceptable by Beijing. The territory's Beijing-endorsed leader Leung Chun-ying, who has called for Hong Kong's support of the NPCSC decision, has shunned the students' demand for a dialogue and has not been seen in public since the student-police clash.