Student leaders of the Hong Kong protests have been prevented from boarding a flight to Beijing, where they hoped to meet with Chinese government officials in their push for greater democracy in Hong Kong.
The three members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students – Alex Chow, Nathan Law and Eason Chung – were stopped from boarding a flight to Beijing at Hong Kong's main airport.
Yvonne Leung, a representative of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said,
Alex Chow told reporters at the airport,
The three members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students – Alex Chow, Nathan Law and Eason Chung – were stopped from boarding a flight to Beijing at Hong Kong's main airport.
Yvonne Leung, a representative of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said,
"Cathay (airlines) has confirmed that their (students') return home card has been cancelled by the mainland authorities, so they could not get the required certificates to get on to the plane."The three students had been hoping to meet with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang as well as other government officials in the capital city. Hundreds of supporters, many with yellow umbrellas which have become the symbol of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, greeted the activists at the airport.
Alex Chow told reporters at the airport,
“We’ve tried occupation, dialogue, making an appeal to the government and enlisting the help of others... We have exhausted all available channels.”Hundreds of protestors remain camped out on “tent cities” across Hong Kong, demanding free elections for the city's leader in 2017.