Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to Hong Kong's streets yesterday to denounce the government's planned anti-subversion law, in the city's biggest street demonstration since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
"Return rule to the people," they chanted as the rally began to denounce a bill critics say will impose Beijing-style control over free speech and the media.
PHOTO: AP
Brandishing banners, umbrellas and fans, many wore black on a sweltering day to mourn what they said was the demise of rights and freedoms in one of the world's key financial centers.
Critics say the law, which Beijing has been pressing Hong Kong to enact, poses the biggest threat to basic rights in the former British colony since it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hours before the rally began, protesters burned the Communist Party flag as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (
By late afternoon rally organizers said around 400,000 people had turned out with more still pouring in. It was the largest organized protest in Hong Kong since 1989, when a million turned out after troops killed hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators in the Chinese capital.
Many more protesters were stranded miles away as the crush of people heading to the rally overwhelmed subway and bus systems.
The government has said it would not back down on the legislation regardless of yesterday's turnout. The bill is bound to be passed by the territory's legislature, which is packed with pro-Beijing and pro-government supporters.
While most marchers' prime target was the anti-subversion measures, to be enshrined as Article 23 of Hong Kong's Basic Law or mini-constitution, many others said they were frustrated by the government's handling of the ailing economy and the SARS epidemic, which killed some 300 people in the territory.
Marchers came from all walks of life with businessmen, retirees and young couples pushing baby strollers marching alongside veteran pro-democracy supporters.
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
Taiwan is hosting the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) for the first time, welcoming more than 400 young linguists from 43 nations to National Taiwan University (NTU). Deputy Minister of Education Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said at the opening ceremony yesterday that language passes down knowledge and culture, and influences the way humankind thinks and understands the world. Taiwan is a multicultural and multilingual nation, with Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, 16 indigenous languages and Taiwan Sign Language all used, Chu said. In addition, Taiwan promotes multilingual education, emphasizes the cultural significance of languages and supports the international mother language movement, he said. Taiwan has long participated
Taiwan must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to keep abreast of the next technological leap toward automation, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the luanch ceremony of Taiwan AI and Robots Alliance yesterday. The world is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution centered on AI and robotics, which would likely lead to a thorough transformation of human society, she told an event marking the establishment of a national AI and robotics alliance in Taipei. The arrival of the next industrial revolution could be a matter of years, she said. The pace of automation in the global economy can