HK leader reopens offer to resume dialogue with pro-democracy protesters

Hong Kong leader has reportedly reopened his offer to hold talks with the protesting student leaders after it abruptly called off discussions last week.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that his government has expressed the wish to resume dialogue with student leaders through third parties and added that he wanted to discuss universal suffrage "as soon as he can," reported The Express Tribune.

The offer followed a spike in clashes between police and pro-democracy activists. A video circulated on the internet showed plainclothes officers beating a handcuffed demonstrator as he lay on the ground in a public park in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Demonstrators are protesting against China's decision to vet candidates in the 2017 Hong Kong elections. They are demanding a fully free election for the region's leader.