Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. GPS News .




DEMOCRACY
Hong Kong 'Occupy hotel' recreates protest camp for guests
by Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP) Dec 24, 2014


Hong Kong police arrest democracy protestors after clash
Hong Kong (AFP) Dec 25, 2014 - Hong Kong police said Thursday they had arrested a dozen pro-democracy protesters after a night of clashes in the first sizeable rally since the last protest camp was cleared last week.

Police used pepper spray and batons to disperse hundreds of protesters who crowded the pavements Christmas Eve and at times rushed into traffic on major roads in Mongkok district.

"They caused chaos and blocked roads," police said in a statement.

"Police arrested 10 men and two women, aged between 13 and 43," the statement said, adding they were detained for assaulting police officers, obstructing a police officer and disorderly conduct, among other charges.

News footage showed protesters, one of whom had a bloodied head, being pressed to the ground by several officers. Police said two officers were injured in the operation which lasted into the small hours of Christmas Day.

Mongkok was the scene of some of the most violent clashes during two months of sit-in protests which occupied major roads in Hong Kong.

Protesters in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay, where the last protest site was cleared on December 15, raised yellow crosses and umbrellas as they sang Christmas carols and yelled: "Our Christmas wish is that I want real universal suffrage".

Protesters occupied stretches of some main highways for more than two months from September 28, calling for fully free leadership elections in 2017 after Beijing said candidates for chief executive must first be vetted by a loyalist committee.

The city's embattled leader Leung Chun-ying Thursday made his first visit to the Chinese capital since the sit-ins ended to deliver an annual report.

"One of the main points would be related to me and the government's determination to achieve elections for the chief executive in 2017... I believe that the determination of the central authorities has not changed," Leung said before his trip.

Pro-democracy campaigners are still making their voices heard despite the clearances. Large banners have appeared on landmarks and pop-up markets sell movement memorabilia, in addition to smaller protest gatherings.

Hong Kong's pro-democracy protest camps may have been swept away but one man has recreated a rally site as an Occupy hotel -- where guests now pay to spend the night in a tent.

Set up in a small apartment in the Causeway Bay shopping district, which was previously home to one of three protest camps, visitors pay HK$100 ($13) to stay in one of two small tents surrounded by protest memorabilia.

The walls are draped with pro-democracy banners, and a cardboard cutout of Chinese President Xi Jinping holding a yellow umbrella -- the symbol of the pro-democracy movement -- dominates the room.

When nature calls, guests will find the face of the city's embattled leader Leung Chun-ying printed on the toilet paper.

"I want people who missed out on the chance to 'occupy' because they were too busy or they were in another country to come in and stay in the tents," said Stephen Thompson, 50, a British freelance writer who has lived in Hong Kong for eight years.

"When it finished I didn't want it to end," added Thompson, who calls his 'hotel' the "Umbrella Revolution Occupation Experience".

"It (the umbrella movement) was an achievement in itself, whether or not universal suffrage was achieved."

Protesters occupied stretches of some of Hong Kong's main highways for more than two months from September 28, calling for free leadership elections after China said candidates for chief executive in 2017 would first be vetted by a loyalist committee.

Hundreds of tents sprawled across major roads as the protest sites became entrenched camps complete with supply stalls, study areas and artwork.

Causeway Bay was the last remaining site to be cleared last week.

"People like to be reminded of their dreams and ideals so I think people are more than happy to spend a little bit of money for that," said Thompson, who lives separately on one of Hong Kong's outlying islands.

The makeshift hotel opened last week and guests are booked in from all over the world, he said, including from mainland China.

One current guest, who identified himself as Allen D from San Francisco, said he was staying there because he supports "revolutionary spirit" and was "in awe" of Hong Kong's protesters.

The 26-year-old, who is travelling the world and camped at the protest sites after arriving in Hong Kong in November, found Thompson's replica through online accommodation site Airbnb.com

Pro-democracy campaigners are still making their voices heard around the city, with large banners appearing on landmarks and pop-up markets selling movement memorabilia, as well as smaller protest gatherings.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








DEMOCRACY
Umbrellas banned during China's Presidential visit to Macau
Macau, Macau (AFP) Dec 19, 2014
President Xi Jinping visited a drizzly Macau on Friday for the 15th anniversary of the gambling hub's return to Chinese rule, with onlookers barred from using umbrellas - the emblem of democracy protests in nearby Hong Kong. The two-day trip to the former Portuguese enclave comes just days after Hong Kong police cleared the last of three camps where protesters had spent nearly three months ... read more


DEMOCRACY
Can returning crops to their wild states help feed the world?

Little Uruguay has big plans for smart agriculture

From Vietnam with love: local caviar aims to make a splash

Rise of Brazil's ranching queen sparks green protests

DEMOCRACY
Switching to spintronics

Germanium comes home to Purdue for semiconductor milestone

Room temp quantum optics chip geneates tunable photon-pair spectrum

Unusual electronic state found in new class of unconventional superconductors

DEMOCRACY
Airbus will not scrap A380s despite order drought: CEO

Air China orders 60 Boeing 737s for more than $6 bn

BOC Aviation adds two more Boeing jets to earlier order spree

3 countries eye pooled acquisition, operation of airlifters

DEMOCRACY
Honda to recall almost 570,000 vehicles in China

Rice study fuels hope for natural gas cars

Google self-driving car prototype ready to try road

Dongfeng, Huawei partner for Internet-enabled cars

DEMOCRACY
China says regrets death in Myanmar mine protest

US officials see progress in China trade talks

WTO appeals panel sides with China in US anti-dumping duties row

Woman shot dead protesting China-backed mine in Myanmar: govt

DEMOCRACY
Ecuador returning German money in environment row

Clearing rainforests distorts wind and water, packs climate wallop beyond carbon

Seeing the forest for the trees

NASA Study Shows 13-year Record of Drying Amazon Caused Vegetation Declines

DEMOCRACY
NASA's Spaceborne Carbon Counter Maps New Details

Salinity matters

CryoSat extends its reach on the Arctic

China publishes images captured by CBERS-4 satellite

DEMOCRACY
ORNL microscopy pencils patterns in polymers at the nanoscale

Nanoscale resistors for quantum devices

New technique allows low-cost creation of 3-D nanostructures

Technique determines nanomaterials' chemical makeup and topography




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.