Hong Kong protesters accepted talks with the government on Friday as tensions remained over demands for political reforms in the Chinese territory.

Leaders of the Occupy Central group, which has blocked the main government compound for days, had demanded that leader CY Leung resign. He ignored their ultimatum but promised talks instead.

The group’s co-founder Benny Tai signalled their willingness to hold discussions.

“We will have to create the maximum room for the dialogue, and we will look at the process of dialogue and also what can come out of dialogue before we can have any further decisions,” Tai said.

Protesters say Leung has failed to stand up to China, which runs Hong Kong under a separate system of government from the mainland.

The territory’s ‘Basic Law’, established after Britain handed Hong Kong back to China, promised the territory would move towards direct elections for its top leader.

In August, Beijing confirmed universal suffrage would begin in 2017 but says it will pre-approve the candidates, which angered pro-democracy activists.

But some legal experts say China hasn’t broken its promise as Basic Law Article 45 has always stated that “the ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee”.

As demonstrations continued on Friday (October 3) morning, arguments broke out when government workers were denied permission to leave their offices during the morning rush hour.

Police attempted to clear an opening for them despite chants from hundreds of protesters.

The building was eventually closed for the rest of Friday.

Hong Kong’s stock exchange was quiet following a two-day public holiday. Shares sank to a four-and-a-half month low as investors stay on the sidelines while the unrest continues.

The territory’s reputation as a shopping paradise also appears to have been hit. The protests have cost local retailers around $224 million euros so far, according to economists at ANZ.