Mary Ma

Thursday, October 09, 2014

Peers are "unfriended" if they pick the wrong color in what is now known as the yellow-blue war. It's pathetic.

Likewise, there's also the tussle going on between doves and hawks in the political world.

As student representatives and government officials met to sort out arrangements for tomorrow's dialogue, it was greeted with rumors of differences too wide to bridge.

Apparently, the hawks in the government and opposition are waiting like vultures to see the talks collapse so that they can resort to radical action.

Fortunately, undersecretary Lau Kong-wah was able to publicly reconfirm the commitment to the dialogue, saying yesterday that Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was anxious to keep the door open.

It will be essential for both sides to maintain the momentum. As the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu once said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

While the current gap may be wide and there are uncertainties in searching for an acceptable exit, let reason prevail, even if it means crossing the river by feeling the stones.

If there are hawks and doves in the administration, the opposition has them too. The moment the question was raised whether the students should retreat from government headquarters in the tense hours near Sunday midnight, the opposition was already divided.

Read the original post:
Zen 'unfriends' Lai ...

Hilary Wong

Thursday, October 09, 2014

The former head of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun has again called on students to retreat, saying they are "walking on the wrong way" and hijacking Occupy Central.

Zen said students should hand over the running of the campaign to the Occupy Central trio whose duty it was to force the government to rewrite a political report to Beijing.

"Retreat immediately, the faster the better. What do you want to get until you decide to retreat?" he asked. "The resignation of the CE? If the CE does not resign and Beijing continues to support him, how long do you want to wait?"

He said Occupy Central planned well from the start with meetings, forums and a walkathon kicked off earlier at the request of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, causing the present situation where there is no clear leader.

"How can a war be won without a leader? Is boldness the only key to winning? How long are you going to drag this?" he asked.

In a joint statement, the federation and Occupy Central said: "We understand the cardinal's kind reminder and intentions and wholly thank him for his concern for the students' personal safety. We agree with him when he says the Leung Chun-ying government is toying with the students, that it is crazy, barbaric and unreasonable.

"However, we believe the bulk of the responsibility for the current situation lies with the government."

Original post:
Zen warns students to retreat from wrong path