Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters gave Chief Executive C.Y. Leung until Thursday to step down, and he didn’t do it.  He says he’s not going to do it.  But Leung is offering up members of his administration to meet with and hold talks with a student group.

He’s also signaling willingness to wait-out the protesters, who’ve occupied the streets around the government center and key business areas for five days.

“As long as protesters do not challenge (or) storm the police cordon,” Leung said, “we can tolerate their sit-in on the premises of the government office compound.”

When, where, and how the discussions with the Hong Kong Federation of Students would take place hasn’t been established.  Neither is it clear that the protests that have engulfed the semi-autonomous Chinese territory would stop while talks went on. 

Some protesters have said they welcome the talks, but they still want Leung to step down.  But others view talks without concrete concessions to be a betrayal.

“I feel like the last week has been a waste,” said Pat Lam, a hotel management student.  “I feel like deep down this nonviolence will not work.”

The protests came about after Beijing announced that any candidate running in the 2017 elections for Hong Kong Chief Executive would have to be approved by a government panel.  The protesters say that choosing for whom they can and cannot vote is short-circuiting democracy.