Present at the meeting were five Hong Kong government officials and five students representing a student organization taking part in the 23-day-long demonstration.

    The meeting, presided over by Lingnan University President Leonard Cheng, was held at the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, where the two sides exchanged views and discussed 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 on behalf of the Hong Kong government.

    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, spoke for the student protesters.

    At the start of the talks, Lam said the government respected the students’ cause of and persistence in their pursuit of democracy, which, however, should be in a legal, fair and reasonable manner.

    She hoped the students would take the interests of Hong Kong people and take the lead to urge protesters to disperse as it would not help solve disputes over constitutional reform.

    Chow, secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said during the opening remarks that many Hong Kong citizens disagree with the decision of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee made Aug. 31, and that an unfair method for the planned universal suffrage would lead Hong Kong to a society with a widening income gap.

    (Xinhua)

    (Related story on P4)