— {Hong Kong protest leaders on Friday welcomed an offer by the territory’s leader of talks to defuse the crisis over demonstrations seeking democratic reforms, though they continued to demand he resign and maintained barricades around government headquarters, frustrating staff going to work.}
Student protesters had threatened to surround or occupy government buildings if Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying did not step down by midnight Thursday, and police had warned of serious consequence for the protesters, who have grown into the biggest challenge to Beijing’s authority since China took control of the former British colony in 1997.
The government said the Central Government Offices would be closed Friday after some civil servants and other workers arriving for their shifts following a two-day holiday were unable to get past the barricades. It advised workers to follow contingency plans.
(AP)
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