THE Hong Kong government plans to have formal talks with representatives of students participating in the Occupy movement tomorrow.

    In announcing the planned talks yesterday, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam said she is looking forward to having a sincere dialogue with the student representatives.

    “The government is sincere about the talks. The government’s work on political reform has to be based on the Basic Law and the national legislature’s decision. I’m happy to listen to other opinions based on this foundation.”

    Lingnam University’s president Leonard Cheng will be the moderator and each side will send five representatives to attend the dialogue.

    The meeting is expected to last for around two hours and will be broadcast live without a public audience.

    Also yesterday, Hong Kong’s police chief condemned the Occupy protesters for undermining the rule of law during the latest clashes.

    Commissioner of Police Andy Tsang said the police have been extremely tolerant of the demonstrators’ unlawful acts in the past two to three weeks, in the hope that they would calm down and express their views in a peaceful, rational and lawful manner.

    But some protesters have carried on their unlawful assembly and some even become more radical and violent.

    “These illegal acts are undermining the rule of law, undermining what Hong Kong always relied upon to succeed. I urge you to think about this. If from now on, the police failed to uphold the law effectively, who stands to benefit and who stands to gain?”

    A total of 33 people were arrested during the clashes in Mong Kok for a range of suspected offenses including common assault, obstruction of police and possession of offensive weapons. Eighteen police were also injured.(Xinhua)