Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Hong Kong Protesters, Chief Executive Vow Not to Give In

Anita Powell

   HONG KONG -- Hong Kong is bracing for the 20th straight weekend of
   anti-government protests, after both sides revealed this week that they
   are digging in.

   Protesters say they won't back down from their "five demands" on Hong
   Kong's government, and the city's chief executive, Carrie Lam, said she
   would make no concessions to protesters.

   Lam's hardline position was echoed earlier this week by Chinese
   President Xi Jinping, who went a step further and warned that anyone
   advocating Hong Kong's independence from China risked "crushed bodies
   and shattered bones."

   But protesters say they're not giving up. On Friday, more than 1,000
   people flooded the city's financial center, marching past banks and
   luxury stores, drawing hordes of curious onlookers and bringing traffic
   to a halt.

   The protesters' main demands include universal suffrage, an
   investigation of police violence, amnesty for protesters and the full,
   official withdrawal of the spark that lit the fires of dissent: a
   now-withdrawn extradition bill that would allow mainland China to try
   people arrested in Hong Kong.
   Protests have been a near-constant presence in the city since June,
   even though police have outlawed unauthorized protests and the wearing
   of face coverings during public gatherings.

   Many protesters speaking to VOA did not provide their full names out of
   fear of retribution from law enforcement.

   Many expressed frustration with Lam's intransigence.

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