Joshua Wong, Leader Of Hong Kong Protests, Ends Hunger Strike After 108 Hours

Joshua Wong, a teenage leader of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrations, concluded his hunger strike after 108 hours, or almost five days. Wong ended the strike because his doctor told him to do so, the Associated Press reported.

Three other students who began the hunger strike with Wong last Monday are still refusing to eat, AP said. It added that Wong said on his Facebook page this does not mean the government can ignore the students’ demand for democracy. Neither the Beijing central government nor the Hong Kong regional government has accepted protesters’ demands to lift the restrictions on the election of the chief executive of the special administrative region in 2017.

“I feel extremely unwell. I feel dizzy and my limbs are weak,” Wong said in a statement cited by the New York Times Saturday. He added, “Although I have ended the hunger strike, it doesn’t mean that the government can ignore our requests.”

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has not acceded to the demands of the demonstrations and has repeatedly said they are hurting the region’s economy. The students are protesting China’s plans for the Hong Kong election in 2017 that would allow Beijing to filter the candidates.

The demonstrations appear to be losing steam, with the number of protesters outside the Hong Kong government headquarters falling to the low hundreds Saturday, the New York Times reported. Protest leaders are reportedly discussing whether they should cancel the demonstrations altogether.