Most Hong Kong protesters oppose sit-ins

29 Nov SSM News

A majority of Hong Kong's anti-election law protesters are opposed to continuing their mass sit-ins after almost two months of demonstrations, a new poll shows.

The recent survey conducted by Hong Kong University demonstrated that 83 percent of the respondents want the occupation of streets in the city to end.

This comes as a similar survey last month indicated that only 35.5 percent of those polled are opposed to blocking major thoroughfares in the city.

Hong Kong's anti-election law protesters are reportedly split on whether to retreat or ramp up their campaign amid a drop in public support for their move.

“The majority are against it. What they are asking for is reasonable, but it's causing a hindrance (to traffic),” said a 65-year-old gardener, adding, “there are many other ways to do it.”Student protester Louis Tong, however, expressed his opposition to the idea of retreating, saying, “We need to bring the message to the public.”

Demonstrators launched a campaign of occupying government buildings in Hong Kong on September 27. Police and protesters have clashed on many occasions ever since. The protesters are opposed to an election law introduced by the government in Beijing, under which the people of Hong Kong will have to elect their next leader from a list of Beijing-vetted candidates in 2017.

The Chinese parliament says nominating more candidates will cause a chaotic situation.Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China.

The financial hub has enjoyed substantial political autonomy since 1997, when its leadership returned to China after about a century of British colonial rule.