HONG KONG democracy protesters demanded today that Chief Executive Leung Chunying meet them and threatened wider actions if he did not.

Mr Leung had enraged them earlier by declaring that China would not budge in its decision to limit voting reforms in the special administrative region.

“If Leung Chunying doesn’t come out to Civic Square before midnight … then I believe inevitably more people will come out onto the streets,” said Hong Kong Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow.

He added that students were considering various options, including widening the protests, pushing for a workers’ strike and possibly occupying a government building.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions appealed to overseas trade unionists yesterday to help prevent suppression of the pro-democracy movement.

It urged a general strike, accusing the Hong Kong government of having “shown a clear pro-capitalist position in labour, welfare and public policies at the expense of workers’ interests and the independent trade unions.”

City streets were blocked again yesterday, while many schools and offices remained closed.

Police continued the softly-softly approach they adopted on Monday, having dropped the use of tear gas and pepper spray over the weekend after failing to drive out tens of thousands of people occupying streets near the government headquarters.

“Since calm has been largely restored to the streets where citizens gathered, riot police have withdrawn,” the Hong Kong government said in a statement. 

It called on the protesters to stay calm and to disperse peacefully “as soon as possible.”

China’s central government appears to have left the Hong Kong crisis to be dealt with by Mr Leung’s administration.

However, President Xi Jinping vowed yesterday to “steadfastly safeguard” Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.

He said that the city would “create an even better future in the big family of the motherland.”

The president and other leaders placed baskets of flowers at the People’s Heroes Monument in central Beijing yesterday to mark the recently inaugurated Martyrs’ Day, which honours those who fought for China’s independence.