A meeting between Hong Kong officials and pro-democracy movement student leaders, planned for Friday, was called off Thursday.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam said the protest leaders' call for continuation of the occupation of primary protest sites in the city made it "impossible to have a constructive dialogue" and blamed the leaders for "undermining trust" in the scheduled negotiations.
"The dialogue cannot be deployed as an excuse to incite more people to join the protest. The illegal occupation activists must stop."
Prior to her announcement, student leaders within the movement called for an escalation of protests if the government offered no concessions, and Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers promised to stall government action by blocking legislation.
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