Protesters’ red clothes show allegiance to Beijing
Print Edition
ABOUT 190,000 people, some waving Chinese national flags, marched in Hong Kong yesterday in protest against a plan to blockade the Central financial district.
The rally came around seven weeks after rival protesters staged a mass march seeking a greater say in how the future leader of their city is chosen.
The numbers compared to independent estimates of the July 1 march ranging from 122,000 to 172,000.
Police said 111,800 people left yesterday’s starting point in Victoria Park, larger than their estimate of 98,600 on July 1.
The organizer says it has so far collected close to 1.5 million signatures, including that of Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying, saying the “illegal” Occupy campaign would tarnish Hong Kong’s reputation and hurt business. Demonstrators set off for Central from Victoria Park at 1:30pm, and the march ended five hours later.
The anti-Occupy campaign kicked off with a run through the center of the city that attracted about 1,500 in temperatures as high as 30 degrees Celsius, organizers said.
More people, mostly groups of elderly, showed up later in the morning to offer a flower “for peace,” with different groups wearing the same colored T-shirts and hats.
The all-day rally marked the end of the alliance’s monthlong signature campaign.
Campaigners from the Occupy Central group have pledged to mobilize thousands of protesters to block roads in the Central district later this year if authorities reject what they called the public’s right to nominate candidates for the leader’s post.
The movement has been strongly criticized by the central government and city officials as illegal, radical and potentially violent.
Organizers of yesterday’s rally, the Alliance for Peace and Democracy, say the silent majority in the city of 7 million do not support Occupy.
“We want to let the world know that we want peace, we want democracy, but please, do not threaten us, do not try to turn this place into a place of violence,” alliance co-founder Robert Chow said.
Thousands, many wearing red clothes to indicate allegiance to Beijing, filled the park.
Some carried a banner reading “Long live the Chinese Communist Party,” while others chanted “We want peace and democracy” and “No violence.”
A police officer was hit by an egg after a marcher threw eggs at a small group of Occupy supporters heckling yesterday’s protest.
“I am here to oppose Occupy, as simple as that. It is a bad thing for young people,” said a 70-year-old retired chef, surnamed Wong.
“I don’t know how to give a view on democracy, it’s high-level politics. I just know if there is no peace there is no prosperity,” said a 40-year-old construction worker surnamed Kwok who was holding a Chinese flag.
There were accusations that some participants received food or other incentives and were mobilized by pro-Beijing groups in Hong Kong.
Chow rejected the accusations, saying: “If people don’t want to take part in these activities, they don’t have to participate.”
Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 under an agreement that guarantees civil liberties including the right to protest. China says all residents will be allowed to vote for the next chief executive in 2017 but that a nominating committee must choose the candidates, who must be “patriotic.”
Some activists say this means that Beijing will be able to ensure a sympathetic slate of candidates and exclude opponents.
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