Ferguson Protests Move to Retailers

Protesters on Friday went to major retailers to demonstrate against a Missouri grand jury's failure to indict a white police officer for killing an unarmed black teenager.

The protesters briefly shut down stores in at least two malls near Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis where Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, in August.

Elsewhere, as many as 200 people demonstrated near Chicago's famed Water Tower, urging shoppers not to spend money as a show of solidarity with people in Ferguson, and protesters in New York descended upon the city's flagship Macy's store and temporarily blocked traffic.

Demonstrators had interrupted shopping overnight at some stores in the Ferguson area. Dozens of people, beginning Thursday on the Thanksgiving holiday and continuing into the night, had gone to Walmart and Target stores, chanting as police officers watched.

Protesters hold signs aloft outside Macy's before the kick off of Black Friday sales in New York on Nov. 27, 2014. /Reuters

The Friday after Thanksgiving is the first day of the Christmas shopping season in the U.S., during which huge crowds of consumers are drawn to special offers by retailers.

Residents of Ferguson and others who wanted to help came out on Thanksgiving to clean up the debris left from the violence and looting that followed Monday's announcement that Wilson would not be indicted. The unrest left dozens of buildings damaged or burned.

Brown's death inflamed tensions in Ferguson and raised concerns about police violence and racial discrimination in the mostly black city.

Wilson, who said he feared for his life during the confrontation with Brown, told reporters Tuesday that he had a clean conscience "because I know I did my job right."

Brown's family said Wilson acted with malice and should stand trial.

Protesters across the country have used the case to highlight similar instances in which they say laws are not applied fairly toward African-Americans.

The U.S. Justice Department is probing possible civil rights abuses in the Ferguson shooting. President Barack Obama has called for reflection on the difficulties minorities face in the country.

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Hong Kong Protests at a Crossroads

The fate of the Hong Kong protests is at a crossroads.

A new public opinion survey indicates 83 percent of people say pro-democracy protesters should end their street demonstrations. Even the movement's founders have suggested protesters find other ways to press for open elections of Hong Kong's top leader in 2017.

But some, like Christine and high school student Kenny in the Hong Kong district of Mongkok, say they will stay and fight for their rights.

"I think the protest is to change the people's minds. If Beijing [does] not do the action to change the Hong Kong, we will not… give up," Christine said.

Kiki agrees. She works in sales in Mongkok, then comes to the protest sites, after work. "I know maybe we need to wait for a long time," she said. "But if we… hand down [give up], maybe the Beijing government can kill my sound [voice]. This is not what we want."

In the nearby southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, few people who spoke with VOA seemed to understand what the debate is over. But many are concerned that protesters have gone too far. Some even say it's time for a crackdown.

Others say the protesters do not appreciate the freedoms they already have in Hong Kong, compared to mainland China.

"They should come here and gain a deeper understanding of what our government is like. They only have a superficial view of what the situation is like in China," said one Guangzhou woman.

Some were philosophical about the democracy debate. "From a historic perspective or even looking forward, democracy is not the only solution. All of humanity, every country, every region is searching for a way, a system that can make society even better," said a businessman.

"In China, we do not have a clear idea of what democracy is, not like in Western countries. Or to put it more precisely, the idea really hasn't gotten into our hearts and we do not understand what democracy is," said a local designer.

Despite the criticism Occupy Central is receiving in China and at home, 25-year-old nurse Cheng Mung-Oi said she does not believe the protesters are asking for too much.

"I'm just asking you to respect me as a person as the most basic part of a society, which is so normal, right? It’s very normal for me," Cheng said.

Where the protests are headed next is unclear, but for many, it's clear a longer political struggle has only begun.

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