HK protesters to lobby China officials at APEC -report

HK protesters to lobby China officials at APEC -report

Students to ask that decision regarding election method for 2017 chief executive poll for semi-autonomous region be withdrawn

World Bulletin/News Desk

Student protesters will send representatives to Beijing this weekend in the hope they can meet with high officials to press their demand for greater democracy for Hong Kong, according to a local newspaper. 

There, they will ask that a decision regarding the election method for the 2017 chief executive poll for the semi-autonomous region -- handed down August 31 -- be withdrawn, Apple Daily reported Tuesday -- the 38th day of the students' occupation of Hong Kong roads.

The trip will coincide with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that will be held in the northern Chinese city.

Members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students said last week they might try to protest at the gathering of Asia-Pacific leaders as a way to gain publicity for their demand that China ease its control over Hong Kong's future elections.

They said they wanted to have talks with the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang.

The report by the Hong-Kong-based tabloid -- which cited unnamed sources -- said five members would be sent, but exactly who had not been decided.

It added that it was possible that the student representatives would be immediately returned to Hong Kong once they arrived in Beijing.

Hundreds of protesters remained on the streets overnight in three key locations in this former British colony.

The numbers typically swell to the thousands in the evenings, on weekends, or after police or mobs use force against the demonstrators.

Also Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying called for social order and the rule of law to be restored to the region "as soon as possible."

A stable legal environment is important for Hong Kong’s status as an international financial and trade center, he told reporters.

The protests are seen as the biggest challenge to Beijing's authority over the city since the handover in 1997.