10/10/2014 10:33
Hong Kong students call for protests as talks cancelled
Hong Kong's student protest leaders have called on supporters to stage a major rally later on Friday after the government cancelled planned talks, the BBC reported.
The two sides were supposed to be meeting on Friday for the first time since pro-democracy protests erupted in late September.
But on Friday the government said it would be "impossible to have a constructive dialogue."
Protester numbers have fallen dramatically in recent days.
Last week thousands of demonstrators from both student groups and the wider pro-democracy Occupy Central movement paralysed parts of the city.
But by Monday only a few hundred protesters, mostly students, remained on the streets around the financial and government district of Admiralty and in Mong Kok north of the harbour. Barricades remain in place, blocking off major roads.
The protesters are demanding a fully free vote in elections due to be held in 2017 for the post of chief executive, Hong Kong's leader.
China has said that, under Hong Kong law, voters will be able to vote freely but from a list approved by a nominating committee.