Alex Chow, Nathan Law and Eason Chung members of a group that played a main role in organising street protests that started nearly two months ago arrived at the Hong Kong airport greeted by dozens of well-wishers. But they were denied boarding passes for a Cathay Pacific flight when they were told their documents that would allow them to travel to Beijing were invalid.
The group left the airport, and a news conference was scheduled for later in the evening.
The students had planned to fly to Beijing and head straight to China’s legislature to seek talks with Premier Li Keqiang and others.
The protesters oppose Beijing’s decision that a panel screen candidates for the territory’s inaugural 2017 election for its chief officer. Since late September, they have been occupying streets in three business and shopping districts in Hong Kong to express their objection to the Beijing decision, but the Chinese authorities have denounced the gatherings illegal and showed no sign of budging.
Mr. Chow and his two deputies arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport amid a large crowd of supporters, prompting security officers to set up barriers to control the crowd so as not to disrupt the flow of travellers through the facility.
When the flight took off, the seats booked by the student leaders were draped with a sign that reads - “SEAT INOP, DO NOT OCCUPY.”
