Students join Hong Kong pro-democracy protests

Tertiary students in Hong Kong have joined the territory’s growing pro-democracy movement. Thousands have staged a sit-in, calling on the Chinese Communist Party to reverse its refusal to allow local people to freely choose their next leader. Students from more than 20 universities and colleges will this week boycott their classes. Hong Kong is a former British colony that was returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The city was offered a high degree of autonomy, but last month Beijing rejected demands for an election open to any candidates. The student sit-in is the latest in a series of rallies against the planned electoral reform.