On 21 October 2014 during the Occupy Central movement triggered by the NPCSC's August 31 Decision, the government and the HKFS held the first round of talks in a televised open debate in which Yuen took part as one of the five government representatives. During the talks, government representatives suggested the possibility of writing a new report on the students' concerns to supplement the government's last report on political reform to Beijing, but stressed that civil nomination, as proposed by the students, fell outside the framework of the Basic Law and the NPCSC decision. The government described the talks as "candid and meaningful" in a press release, while the students expressed their disappointment at the lack of concrete results.