NEW YORK TIMES: …Leung Chun-ying, the chief executive, and his advisers have decided not to use force to disperse the demonstrations but also not to hold formal negotiations with protest leaders for now, said people with a detailed knowledge of the Hong Kong government’s and Beijing’s policies. Nor has there been any serious discussion of Mr. Leung’s resigning, as the protesters are demanding…
“The government can tolerate the blockade of three or four or five areas and see how the demonstrations go, so the only way the demonstrators can go is to escalate it — spread it to more places, and then they cannot sustain it — or they will become violent,” said a person who is deeply involved in the Hong Kong government’s decision-making.
If the demonstrators do become violent, the person added, “they know better than we do that they will lose support overnight.” Like others interviewed about the government’s intentions, he insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with journalists… (more)
