Plans changed after mobs try to drive protesters from streets
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters have shelved plans for talks with the government on electoral reforms after mobs of people tried to drive them from the streets they have occupied for a week.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students, one of the groups leading the protests that swelled to the tens of thousands earlier this week, said they saw no choice but to cancel the talks.
Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, proposed the talks late Thursday, seeking to defuse the standoff, the biggest challenge to Beijing’s authority since China took control of the former British colony in 1997.
he scuffles in Kowloon’s crowded Mong Kok district and other areas were the most chaotic since police used tear gas and pepper spray last weekend to try to disperse the protesters.
