Hong Kong: Hong Kong student leaders said on Thursday they’re considering retreating from protest sites on city streets after more than two months in the latest sign that momentum is fading in their movement for greater democracy.
The protesters have few options left after rallying supporters in a failed bid earlier this week to surround government headquarters that resulted in a night of violent clashes with police armed with batons and pepper spray.
Prominent student leader Joshua Wong said on his social media accounts that his group will discuss and coordinate with the federation on the decision.
Wong, 18, and four other members of his Scholarism group started a hunger strike this week to try to force the government to resume talks over the students’ demands, which include dropping Beijing’s requirement to screen candidates for inaugural 2017 elections.
The talk of retreat comes after the founders of Occupy Central, which also played a role in the protests, called this week for the students to end the protests to avoid further violence. The three founders and about 60 supporters turned themselves into police Wednesday in a symbolic move to show they wanted to move on to a new phase of the movement, but police let them go.
