Hong Kong protests: Finance workers barbecue 2,000 sausages for hungry demonstrators

Traders said they wanted to support the pro-democracy movement

Lizzie Dearden
Tuesday 30 September 2014 23:00 BST
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Financial traders in Hong Kong have barbecued more than 2,000 sausages for pro-democracy protesters occupying the city streets.

Markets have fallen as the demonstrations continue but four staff members from BGC Partners said they wanted to show support for the movement.

They spent more than HK$10,000 (£800) on sausages and burgers to grill on Monday night and planned to return on Tuesday.

Daniel Shepherd, the firm’s British head of Asia derivatives, told Bloomberg they wanted to help the protesters eat properly as they continued demanding free elections.

“It was pretty much all kids sitting around, eating whatever they were given: crackers, bananas,” he said.

“And some of the kids are there three days already.”

Protesters and student demonstrators hold up their phones in a display of solidarity during a protest outside the headquarters of Legislative Council in Hong Kong

They set up their free stall in Rodney Street, which is in the heart of the central Admiralty district where protests are concentrated, and barbecued for six hours until the food ran out.

BGC Partners was formed as a subsidiary of Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 employees in its One World Trade Center office in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The firm has since become known for its charitable efforts and Mr Shepherd said it had “learned how to help people in difficulties”.

“We will try to do as much as we can [for the Hong Kong protesters],” he added.

The protests started following the Chinese Government’s refusal to let Hong Kong select its own candidates for leadership elections in 2017, allowing only pre-approved politicians to stand.

Demonstrators are demanding rapid democratic reforms and the immediate resignation of the city’s unpopular Beijing-backed leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

The movement, dubbed the Umbrella Revolution because of the widespread use of umbrellas against tear gas and pepper spray, has sparked solidarity protests around the world.

After nights of clashes as police attempted to stop the occupation, the situation calmed on Monday, when officers left the protesters to continue their peaceful occupation after several nights of clashes.

The blockade was extended on Tuesday, as protesters stocked up on supplies and erected makeshift barricades ahead of a feared push to clear the roads before Chinese National Day tomorrow.

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