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          Renewed Calls for Protests in Hong Kong after Talks Collapse

   by VOA News

   Hong Kong student protesters are calling for a mass demonstration to
   protest the government's decision to call off talks on electoral
   reforms.

   The rally is to be held late Friday in the Admiralty neighborhood,
   where the pro-democracy protesters have camped out for nearly two
   weeks.

   Authorities backed out of the talks late Thursday, saying negotiations
   cannot be held while the protests, which they view as illegal,
   continue.

   The Beijing-friendly government was angered by student leaders' threats
   to escalate the protests if their demands for democratic reform were
   not met.

   The protesters are demanding that Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung
   Chun-ying resign and that Beijing reverse its decision to screen
   candidates for the territory's 2017 election.

   Alex Chow of the Hong Kong Federation of Students on Thursday blamed
   the government for the stall in negotiations, saying the students had
   not done anything to provoke the action. He ridiculed the government's
   decision to cancel the talks.

   "Hong Kong is an international metropolitan city. This move by the
   government - this response by the government, is absolutely an
   international laughing stock," said Chow.

   Earlier, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam told reporters that the
   protesters' call for an expansion of their movement has shaken the
   trust of the government and made productive talks impossible.

   Lam said the government does not want to be linked with possibly
   illegal actions.

   "We cannot accept the fact that someone will link the talks with
   possible continued illegal Occupy [Central] actions," said Lam.

   The number of protesters had dwindled to just a few hundred, down from
   the tens of thousands that initially gathered at the protest sites
   throughout the city.

   Attempts to force Leung to resign may be bolstered by the recent
   emergence of media reports accusing the leader of taking $6.4 million
   in undisclosed payments from an Australian company while in office.

   Leung has denied any wrongdoing in accepting the payments, saying the
   deal was a standard non-compete clause signed before he became chief
   executive. Several pro-democracy lawmakers have called for an
   investigation into the deal.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/renewed-calls-for-protests-in-hong-ko
   ng-after-talks-collapse/2479069.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/renewed-calls-for-protests-in-hong-kong-after-talks-collapse/2479069.html