Students spearheading mass protests in Hong Kong have vowed to occupy more government buildings unless the territory's Beijing-backed chief executive does not step down.
Protesters are angry about China's vetting of candidates for a 2017 leadership election, and in days of demonstrations have brought much of the financial hub to a standstill.
Student leader Lester Shum said protesters could start occupying government buildings if Leung Chun-ying did not quit by Thursday.
In the social media age, protests are no longer "local." My @NewYorker piece on Hong Kong and mainland China: http://t.co/8p4xsEecBV
— Emily Parker (@emilydparker) October 1, 2014
Fears among demonstrators that police might try to remove them forcibly ahead of the National Day holiday marking the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 proved unfounded, and the atmosphere was calm but defiant.
Thousands of demonstrators remained camped out at the main protest sites in the central business district, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, while a fourth site opened on Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, a major shopping district several roads south of Mong Kok.
