LIVE: US expresses concern over alleged police beating as CY Leung calls press conference

Good afternoon and welcome to our ongoing live coverage of Hong Kong's Occupy protests.

The U.S. today said it was 'deeply concerned' over a video apparently showing a demonstrator being beaten by police, while Chief Executive CY Leung said during a press conference this afternoon that the government is willing to enter into talks with students.

Stay tuned for all the latest breaking news. 

2.40pm: Chief secretary Carrie Lam says the goverment shelved last Thursday's planned meeting with protesters because it was unacceptable that they were using the occasion to incite more people to join a mass sit-in. More follows...

2.35pm: CY Leung says the government is working on three areas: holding and maintaining a dialogue with protesters - which could come as soon as next week; restoring order in Hong Kong and getting traffic flowing across the city; and starting the second round of consultation on electoral reform "with a view to taking forward our constitutional development" in the fourth quarter of this year.

He says he hopes dialogue with the Federation of Students can resume as soon as next week as conversations through middlemen are ongoing, adding that a university vice-chancellor could chair the dialogue. He says a one-time negotiation will not be sufficient to bridge political differences, suggesting several round of talks could take place.

Negotiations, he says, have to be based on Basic Law and and the decision by the National People's Congress on the election of the next chief executive.

Leung says the objective of the dialogue is to seek consensus on how to implement "one man, one vote" for the 2017 chief executive election.

More follows...

2.25pm: Chief Executive CY Leung says at a press conference the government is willing to enter into talks with the Federation of Students. More follows...

2.05pm: Some police officers are managing to maintain a sense of humour in Mong Kok as they patrol near the Occupy site.

"OK! Your concern has been heard. Time for lunch. You’d better go to a yum cha place before all the seats are taken," one officer tells an anti-Occupy protester as he breaks up an argument.

Seeing a crowd gather as an anti-Occupy protester yells, another police officer jokes: "What's there to see? It's exactly what happened yesterday and the day before."

Although those who oppose the Occupy movement occasionally come to challenge the occupiers, the atmosphere remains peaceful with the two sides remaining civil during most arguments.

1.55pm: Former Hong Kong governor David Wilson will be among prominent members of Britain’s House of Lords to debate recent developments in Hong Kong in Parliament on Thursday.

The 60-minute debate in London will feature eight speakers, all with links to the former British colony.

READ: Ex-governor David Wilson to discuss Hong Kong events in British Parliament debate

1.40pm: Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung says both police and protesters should abide by the law, in response to questions about the alleged beating of Ken Tsang by a group of police officers yesterday,

"Both police and protesters should not do anything which goes beyond the law," he says upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport after completing a trip to London.

Yuen says there are established mechanisms to handle complaints against alleged misconduct of police officers. The justice secretary says the complaint could be handled by the Independent Police Complaints Council and if necessary, by judicial process. "I'm sure we can handle the matter in an independent and impartial manner," he says.

Yuen says the government has been sincere about engaging in dialogue with the Federation of Students. "But we hope the students would give goodwill by not insisting on something which can't be realised," he says, referring to the students' demand of the retraction of the National People's Congress Standing Committee's framework on the 2017 chief executive election.

1.30pm: Pro-government lawmaker Leung Che-cheung suggests in a Legco debate that an umbrella is a more "aggressive" weapon than "useless" tear gas and pepper spray.

Leung says that in the classic Wong Fei-hung kung fu movie series, the hero Wong “uses an umbrella” as a weapon to fight his arch-rival and villain Kin, played by actor Shih Kien.

“It is basic common sense that an umbrella can be an aggressive weapon, but many lawmakers are just completely ignorant about history,” Leung says.

“The umbrella can be used as shelter from the rain and the sun, as a walking stick, or as a stick to [protect yourself] from stray dogs … It’s aggressive. But tear gas and pepper spray are useless weapons … because they cannot make protesters fall, they just come back time after time, and the police only defended their cordon after firing tear gas.”

1.20pm: The government announces that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam will meet the press at Government House at 2.15pm.

Stay tuned to the live blog for what could be a major announcement.

1.10pm: A green-fingered protester who has planted more than 30 pots of tomatoes and vegetables at the Admiralty Occupy site says her struggle for democracy has its roots in the controversial development plan for new towns in the northeastern New Territories – a plan that passed despite protests by villagers and other groups.

"If you don’t understand why we’re fighting for democracy, just look at what happened there," says Emily Wong Lai-Ming, an animator in her 40s who has been part of Occupy Central for the past few weeks, spending several nights in a tent with her child.

"There’s a lot of land in Hong Kong that needs to be preserved. Of course development has its benefits but we can’t build over everything. How sincere is the government when it comes to listening to what people have to say before starting a development? Are the committees real checks or just rubber stamps?"

Wong started growing her own food – and doubting the government’s intentions – after visiting a family-owned farm that has existed for generations but lies squarely at the centre of the New Territories development plans.

"Now Hongkongers feel helpless about a lot of things: sky high housing prices, food that’s not safe ... and they’ll complain but it’s like you’re in a black hole and there’s no one to pull you up. But gardening is simple. Sure, it relieves stress and you make your own food, but what’s better is that it shows that you can reduce the world to air, food and water."

When the Occupy movement ends, Wong plans to give the plants to whoever is interested, so more people can learn about agriculture in Hong Kong and how to grow their own food.

12.55pm: Protesters plan to hold an “Umbrella Marathon” tonight, starting from the so-called Lennon Wall in Admiralty at 9pm.

Runners are encouraged to wear yellow for the 4km race. More info here.

12.45pm: Protesters face a new enemy in Mong Kok, as occasional wind picks up speed to blow empty tents away.

Volunteers in charge of the camp have to readjust the tents from time to time and reposition them after they are blown away.

12.30pm: Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah urges lawmakers and officials to change their attitude and stop heating up the social atmosphere during a debate in Legco over whether it is the police or Occupy Central organisers who have brought chaos to the city.

“We are facing the most serious challenge sine the 1967 [riots], and I thought that after all the storms we have seen over the years, the wise people will find a better solution to solve this,” Tong says.

“It’s a pity that I have only seen an egocentric attitude that power can solve everything. I have not heard much [insights] in this chamber either, on how to solve the social divide … We must lower the temperature, because only by doing that, we might have the chance to lower the temperature outside.

“In the exclusive interview [with TVB last week,] Leung Chun-ying seemed to have forgotten that he is the chief executive, and shirked all his responsibility on the police commanders. But what we are facing is a deep-rooted problem … it’s not a police-citizen relationship problem, not a public order problem, and not a transport problem … Has anyone tried to solve this political problem with political means?”

He says that many people have been ignoring the nuances of the situation in the city saying that they are “eroding social unity and increasing [the] social divide”.

“I don’t want to use Regina Ip as an example … but she said ‘there is political screening everywhere!’ I don’t know if she needs to take exams for her politics [masters degree at Stanford], but she’s bound to fail if she cites such a theory,” Tong countered.

Noon: From Twitter: a banner hangs near the Occupy site in Mong Kok …

袋住先 pic.twitter.com/57SuKzNboS

— 流雲 (@liuyun1989) October 16, 2014

11.30am: Tourism sector lawmaker Yiu Si-wing says Occupy Central could cause hotel occupancy from October to December to drop to a 10-year low.

“Hotel booking for October to December is lower than expected, while many are asking for their booking to be cancelled – so the occupancy rate of some relatively large hotels could drop to about 50 to 60 per cent in the next two months [compared with a year ago],” he says.

For the first two weeks this month, outgoing travel sales also decreased by 20 per cent, compared with a year ago.

“There are 1,700 travel agencies in Hong Kong, and more than 90 per cent of them are small and medium enterprises … by the end of the year, if they do not have enough cash when they have to pay their bills, many of them could close down,” Yiu warns.

11.15am: A minor row breaks out in Mong Kok between police and protesters after officers let a man accused of spitting at the protest camp go with a warning. “No one trusts you any more," a protester says to the policemen. "You're just like those cops [who allegedly assaulted Ken Tsang]," says another.

"We warned this man that if he came and did it again, we would give him a ticket," a policeman explains to protesters. "However, if he spat at a protester, we would arrest him immediately because that's a case of assault."

The officer says his job has not become more difficult since the Ken Tsang incident, because it has been difficult since the start of the protests anyway.

"It might give the protesters one more excuse," he says. "But the hardest thing is there seems to be no more mutual trust [between police and members of the public] any more."

11am: Pro-government lawmaker Ip Kwok-him, who chairs the Legislative Council's security panel, criticises protesters for creating “a serious social divide” as Legco debates the protests.

“Where is the peace that Occupy Central organisers were talking about?” Ip asks. “The protesters chanted ‘Save our Hong Kong by ourselves’, but in fact, this is now ‘Destroy our Hong Kong by ourselves’. They said Occupy Central is blooming everywhere, but in fact, there is fighting everywhere.”

Former security minister and New People’s Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee also accuses pan-democratic lawmakers of misleading the public.

“Public nomination is not an international standard, it is mainly found in many totalitarian states such as Russia, Angola, Kazakhstan and Guinea Bissau. There is nothing as a ‘one size fits all’ [political system],” she says.

She also reiterates that the police have been doing a good job.

But Democratic Party lawmaker Sin Chung-kai disagrees. He says on September 28, the protest in Admiralty only spread to Harcourt Road after police officers tried to stop people from going to Tim Mei Avenue, the only protest zone at that time.

“The police’s operation failed,” Sin says.

10.45am: Some 50 protesters are queuing in line for food at the Civic Passion tent in Admiralty.

Truth Wong, 65, has donated breakfast to protesters for the past three days. She’s been coming with a friend, pushing a small cart loaded with a box of fresh rice crepes that they buy early in the morning. They combine sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, peanut sauce, soy sauce, oil and yeast flakes to make a savoury snack.

Wong lives in Kowloon and says the ingredients probably set her back around HK$200 each day. She says it's a small contribution to the democracy movement compared to the protesters camping at the site.

"My generation should have taken care of this, and I'm ashamed that we've left it to the younger generation to wrap up," she says.

She says she's proud of the maturity shown by students at the protest sites, saying they have cleaned toilets without being asked. She also says she's heartbroken at the images of an alleged police beating of a protester released yesterday.

"The government is going to lose this struggle either way, because it exposed its ugliest side," she says, adding she'll be back again tomorrow at 9am with more rice crepes.

10.40am: Professor Lau Siu-kai, a former head of the Hong Kong government's Central Policy Unit and now vice-president of the Beijing-backed Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, says the protests are "mainly caused by internal factors in Hong Kong", contrary to Beijing's branding of the Occupy movement as a "colour revolution" backed by foreign powers.

He says it is evident that Western political leaders have supported the Occupy movement in a more high-profile way than before and that Western institutions such as the National Democratic Institute in the US had supported local pan-democrat organisations.

However, he does not believe foreign political forces are playing a key role in the movement.

"They would not be allocating too many resources here because the chances of toppling the Hong Kong government are low," he said on RTHK, drawing comparison with revolutions elsewhere, such as Ukraine and Tunisia.

10.30am: How would you rate the overall performance of police during the Occupy protests?

Vote in our poll here.

10.15am: A section of the eastbound lane in Yee Wo Street on Causeway remains occupied by protesters this morning. Some 20 people and 20 tents are in the occupied area. The scene is peaceful and quiet.

Meanwhile in Mong Kok, some 100 protesters are hanging around along Nathan Road, greeted by the occasional soothing breeze. Among them is Wong Yeung-tat, founder of activist group Civic Passion.

Scores of tents are still anchored firmly to the ground and as the breeze strengthens, protesters scramble to reinforce their shelters.

About a dozen police officers can be seen, mainly stationed at the junction of Argyle Street and Nathan Road.

10am: The US says it is “deeply concerned” by reports of Ken Tsang’s alleged beating by police, calling for a “swift, transparent and complete” investigation of the incident.

“We renew our call for the Hong Kong government to show restraint and for protesters to continue to express their views peacefully,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Psaki hailed Hong Kong’s “well-established tradition of respect for the rule of law and internationally recognised fundamental freedoms” and said they were crucial to the city’s success.

Click here to see video footage of the alleged beating.

9.30am: Harry's View on Thursday:

Click here for a timeline of Harry's cartoon takes on the city's democracy movement.

9.15am: Legco resumes its debate on the police's handling of the Occupy protests, including the use of tear gas on September 28 and the alleged attack on protester Ken Tsang yesterday. More to follow.

9am: Police launch a fresh appeal for protesters to cooperate after demonstrators scuffled with officers as they arrested a man on Lung Wo Road in the early hours of this morning.

Police used pepper spray (which they describe as “OC foam”) during the incident, in which they say three officers were injured.

Here’s the full text of their statement:

At about 1.10am today (October 16), police officers saw a man on the central divider of Lung Wo Road near Tamar Park kicked a bottle which hit a private car travelling on the road. Police then arrested the 38-year-old man for disorderly conduct in a public place. During the arrest, a large crowd of protesters attempted to obstruct police and surrounded the police.

Police issued repeated advice and warnings but were ignored. The protesters attempted to charge the police and therefore police discharged OC foam to disperse the protesters. During the incident, another 24-year-old man was arrested for assaulting a police officer. A total of three police officers were injured.

Police appealed to the protesters not to obstruct and charge the police. Police reiterated that any acts endangering public order and public safety will not be tolerated.

8.30am: Hong Kong lawmakers react to alleged police beating of a Occupy protester:

8am: The South China Morning Post's front-page today:

7.45am: Excerpts from the Post's coverage of the Occupy movement today:

Protests reignited by shocking images appearing to show unarmed man being beaten by officers

The video, which is several minutes long, has sparked a storm of controversy with hundreds gathering outside government and police headquarters last night in protest.

Middlemen shuttling messages between the sides

The Post has learned that at least three middlemen are trying to resolve the political impasse, one of them a prominent academic.

Image problem for police as video of officers beating protester is beamed around the world

It is understood that Detective Chief Inspector Joe Wong Cho-shing – a high-flier thought to be in line for promotion to superintendent – was in command of a team put together for Occupy duties comprising officers from his own unit and Kwun Tong district's anti-triad squad.

The casual chat room comment that sparked 45 arrests and allegations of police brutality

The line, inserted around noon, read: "Fight again on Lung Wo Road tonight". The writer signed off as Pei-Yi-Sau, but the person's real identity is not known.

Apple Daily seeks ban against anti-Occupy protesters outside its headquarters in Tseung Kwan O

The protesters have gathered outside Apple Daily's office in Tseung Kwan O every night since October 12 in an effort to obstruct the delivery of its newspapers.

Mainland liaison office rebukes Taiwan over ‘irresponsible comments’ on Hong Kong protests

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has expressed his support for demonstrators in the city, and last week he urged Beijing to move towards democracy.

Protesters must give up this battle to continue their war for democracy

Editorial: "However much we share the democratic aspirations, there is a limit to people's tolerance."

7.15am: What the local papers' front-pages are saying:

Apple Daily: Seven evil cops beat protester for four minutes

Oriental Daily: Protesters block a road a day, once again leaving HK Island traffic paralysed

Ming Pao: Protester vows to pursue legal action as seven cops involved in alleged beating

Sing Tao Daily: Tycoon Li Ka-shing urges Occupy students to go home

7am: Here's what happened earlier in the night: 

Admiralty 

A group of protesters attempted to reoccupy Lung Wo Road shortly before midnight, but were stopped by police. Another group gathered near City Hall where they attempted to slow down traffic by pretending to tie shoelaces and picking up intentionally dropped coins.

One student protester who asked to be identified as James said he didn't expect to be pepper sprayed at Lung Wo Road. "No warning was given. An officer in blue uniform even told me to remove my face mask as he worried I might feel hot. I wasn't expecting they would use pepper spray," he said.

Protesters and police clashed again shortly before 2am in Admiralty. Pepper spray was used at least twice to disperse the crowds blocking police officers at Tamar Park. 

Police said two people were arrested: One 38-year-old man was arrested for disorderly conduct in a public place after he hit a civilian car with a bottle at Lung Wo Road and another 24-year-old man for assaulting a police officer. 

Police said three officers were injured. 

Lots of people pepper sprayed, journalists in the middle of the clashes, protesters push police to the road pic.twitter.com/ALjGnyP4fr

— Raquel Carvalho (@ARaquelCarvalho) October 15, 2014

Protesters taking over Lung Wo Road again. Eastbound blocked. #OccupyCentral #UmbrellaRevolution pic.twitter.com/dWa0vsuMNw

— Raquel Carvalho (@ARaquelCarvalho) October 15, 2014

Around midnight, 52 social workers filed complaints at police headquarters in Wan Chai. At 12.30am, some 40 others were queuing and waiting for their chance to go inside the police station.

By 3.45am, the more than 300 protesters who had gathered outside police headquarters had dispersed peacefully . Arsenal Street between Hennessy Road and Gloucester Road has been re-opened to traffic.

Mong Kok

Some 200 protesters in about 70 tents continued their protest at the junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street.

A team of 10 volunteers spent more than an hour building a 10-metre tall scaffolding structure at the junction to hang a large banner.

The team were briefly stopped by police when they were transporting bamboo poles to the site because police suspected that the poles had been stolen. They were finally allowed in after displaying a receipt for the bamboo.

Protesters later disassembled the structure after concerns emerged that their work might give police a pretext to clear the occupied area.

One new structure that was left standing was a makeshift Christian chapel: a tent and a five-metre high cross made of bamboo poles. Foldable stools have been placed nearby where congregations are set to take place at 9pm every night. 

"It's just a place where people can find some calm and peace from the stress of civil disobedience," said Occupy supporter Thomas But, one of the founding members of the St Francis Chapel on the Street, which now even has it's own Facebook page.

It all started with a portrait of Jesus placed at a barricade on Nathan Road. "Then a congregation began and people started donating things and before we knew it a church formed.

"Everyone is welcome to join the regardless of whether they are yellow ribbon, blue ribbon or green ribbon."

Some 20 people have been participating in prayer groups at Occupy Mong Kok regularly, he said. Guest pastors have also been invited to give sermons.

He said if there were any civil disobedience movements in the future he would also bring the concept of mobile street churches to them.

Tseung Kwan O

Anti-Occupy protesters, many wearing face masks, again defied a High Court order in the night to Thursday in an attempt to delay the newspaper's delivery.

6.30am: Click here for a detailed run-down of Wednesday's events