HONG KONG—Three leaders of the Hong Kong Federation of Students said they would fly to Beijing on Saturday, to make their case for greater democracy in Hong Kong.
Whether they would be granted an audience with Communist Party leaders was quite unclear—but the fact that no such meeting was mentioned in their statements and reports indicates that no arrangements have been made.
The students had previously attempted to go through officials aligned with Beijing that make their base in Hong Kong, such as C.Y. Tung, the former chief executive of the quasi-autonomous city. Tung subsequently made no public remarks on the matter, indicating that he had no intent to act as a broker for their demands.
Eason Chung, a member of a student group that played a main role in organizing street protests that started nearly two months ago, said Friday that he and two others had bought plane tickets for the trip.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students has had the highest profile role in representing the anarchic but peaceful Umbrella Movement that has taken over key roads in calls for greater democracy.
Federation leader Alex Chow and two deputies, Chung and Nathan Law, are scheduled to depart the former British colony for the Chinese capital on a Cathay Pacific flight at 5 p.m. Saturday.
With the Associated Press.
