Beijing has effectively put Hong Kong's financial district on alert after rejecting calls for free elections in the city, with a planned gridlock of business by protesters imminent.
The decision by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, announced on Sunday, throws down the gauntlet to the Occupy Central movement.
Occupy Central, backed by Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, aims to block the financial district by staging a sit-in protest just yards from the Asian headquarters of Citi and HSBC.
Beijing’s intransigence and protestors’ plans to bring traffic in Hong Kong’s streets to a standstill are a threat to the city’s reputation as...