HK protesters agree to hold talks with govt

Representatives of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters have agreed to hold formal talks with the government. No date has been set but the students made it clear the talks would be called off if the remaining demonstrators were cleared from the streets by force. As the protests continued for their second week, crowds began to die down early Tuesday. Pro-democracy activists are protesting at China's plans to vet candidates when Hong Kong holds elections in 2017. They are demanding that the central government in Beijing allow a fully free vote for the territory's leader. The crowds may have receded from tens of thousands to just hundreds, but demonstrators, lawmakers and academics believe Hong Kong's civil disobedience movement has been the most successful pro-democracy campaign in the city's history. They say it has managed to galvanise public opinion on the importance of having genuine choices in elections. And they now find Hong Kong people more willing to take to the streets in support of other democratic causes. But, they believe upcoming talks between student leaders and the Hong Kong government on political reform are unlikely to produce any genuine breakthroughs, according to BBC.