Hong Kong protest leaders arrested before weekend rallies: Live updates – CNN

As anti-government unrest in Hong Kong approaches the thirteenth consecutive weekend with no sign of stopping, there are signs beleaguered officials may be mulling radical solutions — including a partial or complete internet block to cut off protesters from their key organizing platforms.

Speaking to reporters this week, the city’s leader Carrie Lam appeared to leave open the possibility of using emergency powers to tackle the increasingly violent protests, after the move was suggested by pro-Beijing media.

“All laws in Hong Kong — if they can provide a legal means to stop violence and chaos — the (city’s) government is responsible for looking into them,” she said.

October 1 deadline: Lam is facing increasing pressure from Beijing to tackle the unrest before October 1, the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, a senior pro-government lawmaker told CNN this week. While Lam has indicated a willingness to talk to protesters in an attempt to find a political solution, both opposition figures and supporters expressed frustration that she ruled out any potential compromise on the protest movement’s five key demands, increasing the likelihood that talks fail.

What emergency powers mean: Under the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, the chief executive has the power to bypass the city’s legislature to “make any regulations whatsoever which (they) may consider desirable in the public interest” for an indefinite period.

That includes “censorship, and the control and suppression of publications, writings, maps, plans, photographs, communications and means of communication.”

IT industry figures have reacted fiercely to any suggestion the government could censor or control internet access.

Read more on that here.