(ANS - Hong Kong)- As reported by AsiaNews in an article of       3 December by Paul Wang, Cardinal Joseph Zen and three leaders of Occupy Central were released by police after handing themselves over voluntarily to the police station in Sheung Wan.

Benny Tai, professor of law; Chan Kin-man, a professor of sociology; and the Rev. Chu Yiu-min went to the police station in the afternoon delivering a letter signed by all of them stating that they had taken part in an unauthorized rally that might have been contrary to the law on public order. The organizers of Occupy Central have always defended their actions as "civil disobedience."

As well as  the three leaders and Cardinal Zen, among those present were also Cheung Man-kwong, Yeung Sum and Wu Chi-wai, members of the Democratic Party, and dozens of supporters who participated in the sit-in over these past two months to ask for real democracy in Hong Kong.

Professor Tai then said that the police asked them to fill out a form and sign it, and then released them. He also explained that with this gesture the operation Occupy Central has come to an end and protestors should vacate the stations and leave them to the Admiralty.

So far the movement has been almost completley non-violent. The end of the operation is an important step to prevent its being commandeered by more radical groups, losing the sympathy and support they had gained from the public in recent months. Several groups of students, however, want to continue the sit-in.

On their arrival at the police station members of Occupy were greeted by supporters but they were also met by pro-China groups that mocked them and accused them of causing division in society and  endangering the economic well-being of Hong Kong. In reality, the economic data of these two months are conflicting. Foreign investment has not diminished, retail consumption has increased, while trade with China has decreased. This last factor may, however, be due much more to the economic crisis that is felt in the continent, rather than the phenomenon of Occupy Central.

For Benny Tai, the civil disobedience movement has opened a new chapter in the struggle for democracy in Hong Kong. And even if the movement has not evoked a response from Beijing and the government of the territory, nor obtained concessions, the campaign has made the newer generations more aware of the need for democracy.

Published 05/12/2014