Hong Kong pro-democracy protests continue

A statement released by Occupy Central on Tuesday, one of the organizers of the last two days of street protests, said it would step up its demonstrations if its demand that democratic reforms be introduced was not met by Wednesday.

October 1 is China's National Day, a holiday on which even more protesters are expected to take to the streets if as expected the city's chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, continues to refuse to step down.

The AFP news agency reported on Tuesday that for his part, Leung had called on the protest leaders to "immediately" end the pro-democracy rallies.

"Occupy Central founders had said repeatedly that if the movement is getting out of control, they would call for it to stop. I'm now asking them to fulfill the promise they made to society, and stop this campaign immediately," Leung said.

However, the chief executive's demand remained unheard by the protesters several hours into Tuesday.

Demonstrators were gathered at the Causeway Bay and Mongkok shopping areas, as well as near the government headquarters in Admiralty and the Central financial district.

Beijing-approved candidates

Campaigners are demanding a free choice of candidates to become the city's chief executive in the next election in 2017. China's National People's Congress decided last month that any candidates would have to be vetted by Beijing before appearing on the ballot.

On Monday night, a "mobile light" vigil was held, with chants calling for Leung's resignation.

However, police are reported to have kept a largely low profile after officers used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse demonstrators on Sunday, in what they claimed was a necessary response to protesters pushing through barricades.

Beijing's response to the protests so far has been a brief statement condemning the rallies as illegal and backing Leung's semi-autonomous administration in its efforts to end the demonstrations.

pfd/slk (dpa, AP, AFP)