Occupy protests must end - but Beijing won't use force, says ex-HK leader Tung Chee-hwa
Former chief executive says Beijing will not resort to force as it retains confidence in police and C. Y. Leung, but protests should end anyway
Beijing will not use military force to disperse Occupy Central protesters as it is confident the Hong Kong police force can handle the situation, the city's first chief executive says.
The protesters ought to go home nevertheless, Tung Chee-hwa said, as their action had dealt a blow to the city's economy, livelihoods and rule of law, and had torn the community apart.
"The occupation is approaching one month and now is the time to end it," he said yesterday, on the 27th day of the sit-ins. "The negative impact of Occupy will be beyond our imagination and Hongkongers will have to foot the bill eventually."
Tung, who was chief executive from 1997 to 2005 and is now vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, sought to dispel concerns about whether Beijing had set a deadline.
"The [People's Liberation Army] will not be sent to Hong Kong streets," he said. "I have full confidence in the Hong Kong police in handling the protests."
Asked whether that was the central government's position, he said: "Yes".
