Thousands march for full democracy in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, July 1

Tens of thousands of Hong Kong protesters marched for full democracy on Wednesday and called on the Chinese-controlled city’s leader to resign, just weeks after lawmakers voted down an electoral reform package backed by China.

The turnout, estimated by organisers at 48,000, was one of the lowest for the march marking the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return from British to Chinese rule in 1997. Last year’s protest drew more than half a million people when debate over the city’s democratic reforms was near fever pitch.

“I want real universal suffrage” the crowds chanted on a sweltering day, with many holding yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the “Umbrella Movement” last year when protesters blocked major roads to pressure Beijing to allow direct elections in 2017.

But after a series of wrenching street protests and the veto of the electoral reform package, many chose not to show up. “Hong Kong people have been through a lot and they’ve mobilized massively over the past few years,” said Johnson Yeung, with the Civil Human Rights Front, one of the main organisers of the march. “So after the veto, it’s quite natural for them to want to take a rest.”

Some heckling and heated exchanges broke out between the democracy activists and pro-Beijing groups who hurled insults from the sidelines, with police separating the two sides.

Some activists fighting for greater autonomy and even independence from China held up signs calling for a “Hong Kong nation”, while others waved Hong Kong’s old colonial-era flags featuring a UK Union Jack.

Others, including student democracy leader Joshua Wong, shouted for Hong Kong’s leader, Leung Chun-ying, to step down. — Reuters