HONG KONG - China's Hong Kong government on Tuesday held the first formal talks with students who have been participating in the Occupy Central movement since Sept. 28 in the city.
Present at the meeting are five Hong Kong government officials and five students representing a student organization taking part in a 23-day-long Occupy Central movement.
The meeting, presided over by Lingnan University President Leonard Cheng, was held at Hong Kong Academy of Medicine where the two sides will exchange views and discuss Hong Kong's constitutional reform, including how the region's next leader will be elected by universal suffrage in 2017.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam and his aide Lau Kong-wah, as well as Edward Yau, director of the Chief Executive's Office, attended the meeting as the Hong Kong government representatives.
Alex Chow, one of the key leaders of the protesting students, and his aide Lester Shum as well as three other members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students Eason Chung, Nathan Law, Yvonne Leung, speak for the student protesters.
