A protester lies on a bed at an intersection on a main road occupied by protesters in the Mong Kok area in Hong Kong.

Oct. 7, 2014 A protester lies on a bed at an intersection on a main road occupied by protesters in the Mong Kok area in Hong Kong. Vincent Yu/AP

A week of tumultuous pro-democracy protests shifted into a stalemate atmosphere as the ranks of demonstrators thinned.

After a week, tumultuous pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong started to look more like a stalemate as the ranks of demonstrators thinned and some workers returned to offices.

After a week, tumultuous pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong started to look more like a stalemate as the ranks of demonstrators thinned and some workers returned to offices.

Pro-democracy student leaders will sit down for their first formal talks with government officials in Hong Kong on Friday, yet they have almost no hope of finding a solution to end the protests that have both inspired a generation to fight for political change and divided opinion in the city where they live.

Despite dwindling crowds at protest sites, student leaders continue to hold out for their two core demands: full democracy for the former British colony and the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

They told supporters Tuesday to prepare for a long struggle ahead and threatened fresh civil disobedience if they did not realize their goals, without specifying what actions they might take.

The government in Hong Kong, with Beijing breathing over its shoulder, has already ruled out any progress on either demand.

Instead, it wants to talk about what Lau Kong-wah, undersecretary of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, called “the constitutional basis of the constitutional development” and “the legal requirement of the constitutional development.”

A woman takes a selfie in front of a sticky-note message board outside Hong Kong’s government complex Tuesday. Student leaders and government officials agreed Tuesday to hold talks to end the two-week protests. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

So while the talks will take place at 4 p.m. Friday, the agenda remains contested.

Student leaders did not disguise their frustration Tuesday evening, even as they announced the date and time of the talks, but appeared to feel that it was better to be seen to be talking than to walk way from negotiations.

“We are very disappointed and angry,” Lester Shum, deputy secretary general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, told reporters.

He said the government was “not sincere” in its approach to the talks and was resorting to legal arguments instead of facing the central political problem in Hong Kong: a government answerable to Beijing instead of to the citizens of the territory.

“We have a message to the government: Face the people’s demands,” Shum said.

The protesters want a free election for the post of chief executive in 2017, open to candidates nominated by citizens; Beijing intends to vet potential candidates .

In front of a few hundred supporters at the main protest site, Joshua Wong, the 17-year-old bespectacled student who has become the face of the movement, urged his fellow citizens to keep up the pressure.

For some university students whose class boycotts sparked the worst protests Hong Kong has seen in years, it’s time to return to school. Since some barricades were lifted Monday, fewer and fewer protesters have filled the streets. (Reuters)

“I hope everybody can stay and defend the streets. I hope we can fight together, because we believe this protest is a long-term movement,” he said. “Let’s bring our clothes here, tents, mattresses; let’s assemble here, go to work here, okay?”

Later, he said he was not optimistic about the talks.

“The government said the topic is just about the structure or the system of the law,” he said in an interview. “That is not what the activists expect after receiving violence from the police.”

Crowds have fallen sharply since last week, as anger about arrests and the use of tear gas by police has given way to exhaustion and resignation about what the civil disobedience program can achieve. Frustration has also mounted about the disruption to city life caused by the protests.

Still, 14-year-old Keith Pom sat in his school uniform studying a physics textbook just before midnight, joining the movement against what he said were the wishes of his parents. “The chance of success is very small,” he admitted. “The central government [in Beijing] has decided, and they won’t change their minds.”

Nearby, Cecilia Lee, a 54-year-old human resources executive, prepared for another night at the site with her retired husband already sleeping by her side.

“I am so proud to have participated in this. It’s the spirit of the students, the civic spirit without violence, it has awakened an awareness about politics and a commitment to fight for their rights,” she said, before admitting that she was worried about how the movement would end.

“I don’t think Beijing will give up anything, and I want the students to end this gracefully, but it is difficult for them to accept that.”

The next big test for the movement will come Friday and Saturday. If the talks do not make progress, student leaders will be hoping that people will return to the streets in significant numbers.