Hong Kongers await Beijing olive branch after rare calm

Hong Kongers have delivered a clarion call for change over the last fortnight with a landslide local election defeat for the government and more than one in ten hitting the streets peacefully on Sunday -- but will Beijing listen?Monday marks the sixth month anniversary of a movement that has upended the semi-autonomous Chinese hub's reputation for stability and blanketed its streets with unprecedented scenes of political violence.But the last two weeks has seen a dramatic drop-off in clashes and vandalism -- something the city's pro-Beijing leadership has insisted must be a precursor to any meaningful dialogue.The question on many lips now is whether chief executive Carrie Lam -- and Beijing -- will take the opportunity to reach out before anger explodes once more."Ignoring our voices will only make the snowball get bigger and bigger and there will be consequences to that," Bonnie Leung, a prominent figure within the pro-democracy movement's more moderate wing, told AFP.The rare period of calm began in the run up to city-wide local polls in late November -- the only election with universal suffrage.Millions turned out tipping pro-establishment parties out of office and flipping all but one of the city's 18 local councils to the pro-democracy camp.The vote shattered government claims that a "silent majority" opposed the protests.Then on Sunday the city witnessed its largest mass rally in months with organisers estimating some 800,000 people turned out, a vivid illustration of the public frustration that still seethes under the surface.The rally, which received rare permission, was almost entirely peaceful. Small fires were lit outside two major courts and police pepper sprayed bystanders during an argument.But no tear gas was fired -- the first time a mass rally has been smoke free since the middle of August.Jimmy Sham, from rally organiser the Civil Human Rights Front, said the ball was now firmly in the government's court."We have to remind the SAR government that 800,000 people is still a very, very large number," he told reporters."Carrie Lam should listen to our Hong Kongers' demand as soon as possible," he added.Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has been battered by increasingly violent demonstrations in the starkest challenge the city has presented to Beijing since its 1997 handover from Britain.Millions have marched in protests fuelled by years of growing fears that authoritarian China is stamping out the city's liberties.The movement's demands include an independent inquiry into the police's handling of the protests, an amnesty for those arrested, and fully free elections. But there is little sign Lam is willing to budge.Since the electoral drubbing, her administration has made vague commitments to listen to people's demands, but no concrete concessions.Beijing has stuck by her even as she languishes with record low approval ratings and the city police force's reputation takes a hammering.

Hong Kongers await Beijing olive branch after rare calm

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