HONG KONG, (Reuters) – A pro-democracy movement that has threatened to blockade Hong Kong’s financial district has said Beijing “brutally strangled” its fight for full democracy and vowed to take action. On Monday, Hong Kong police used pepper spray to disperse pro-democracy activists after China’s parliament had rejected democrats’ demands for the right to freely choose Hong Kong’s next leader at an election in 2017.
“We Hongkongers won’t accept failure in our road to democracy,” the Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement said in a statement emailed to reporters late on Tuesday.
Pro-democracy activists had threatened to lock down the city’s financial district on an unspecified date unless China grants full democracy.
A Bloomberg report yesterday quoted Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement founder Benny Tai as saying support for the group had dwindled after Beijing’s decision to rule out direct elections in 2017.
