Pro-democracy protests continue in Hong Kong

A public holiday in Hong Kong is usually the busiest time for shops but some stores in Causeway Bay have been forced to shut up shop after thousands of peaceful protestors continued to line the streets.

The protestors are campaigning for democracy in the region, angry at planned political reforms which they say will allow China to vet leadership election candidates.

Wednesday marks Hong Kong’s 65th ‘National Day’ holiday, which is expected to constitute the demonstration’s biggest turnout so far. In recent days, the number of protestors have swelled towards the later part of the evening, due to a more comfortable drop in temperatures.

Protestors are refusing to budge until Hong Kong’s chief executive, CY Leung, resigns and Beijing withdraws their undemocratic political reforms.

During a speech on Wednesday, CY Leung stated: “It is definitely better to have universal suffrage than not. It is definitely better to have Hong Kong’s CE elected by five million eligible voters than 1200 people,” showing his apparent support for democracy. However, the CE is refusing to step down from his position, reportedly calling the protests “disruptive” and “illegal”.

According to the South China Morning Post, "an extraordinary escalation in tactics" has emerged among Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters. Following a news conference, Hong Kong's protesters issued an ultimatum to Chief Executive CY Leung to either step down before Thursday, or else the Occupy Central protests would be escalated to target important government buildings.

Despite the demonstration’s incredible turnout, which has so far involved hundreds of thousands of protestors, the long term sustainability of the Occupy Central campaign is questionable. If the demonstrations continue to block the region’s financial district, Beijing may be forced to take action. However, it is unlikely that the Chinese government will concede to the protestor’s demands, as an allowance for Hong Kong may be taken as a precedent for Chinese citizens.