Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to march in Hong Kong's streets today to demand full democracy in the territory.
The protest comes as public discontent mounts against the government's latest proposal for political reforms -- changes that many believe don't go far enough. Pro-democracy lawmakers want the government to give a timeline for when voters will be given the right to directly elect the city's leader and entire legislature.
Analysts predict today's march will draw between 50,000 and 100,000 people. The turnout will be closely watched by the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, both of whom have gone on a public relations offensive to dampen enthusiasm for the protest.
Beijing is eager to maintain stability in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Two massive pro-democracy marches helped trigger the territory's first leadership change since the handover. Both protests -- in 2003 and last year -- drew half a million people demanding the right to pick their leader and all lawmakers.
In the past few weeks, both the pro-democracy and the pro-Beijing camps have spent lavishly to take out prominent newspaper advertisements in a bid to influence public opinion and today's turnout.
Yesterday, an ad signed by 20 pro-democracy lawmakers reading "Fight for democracy, make history" and "Hong Kong people cannot be kept waiting definitely" was posted in many major papers.
The government's political reform package calls for doubling the size of the 800-member committee that picks the territory's leader. The reforms also propose expanding the 60-member legislature. Half the members are directly elected, while the other half are selected by interest groups.
In a rare televised address days ahead of the planned protest, Chief Executive Donald Tsang (
"Donald Tsang uses scare tactics," read a front-page headline in the mass-market Apple Daily a day after Tsang's speech.
Beijing also took the unusual step of inviting prominent pro-democracy lawmakers to discuss political reforms with senior Chinese officials in Shenzhen.
After Friday's meeting, deputy secretary-general of the National People's Congress (NPC) Qiao Xiaoyang (喬曉陽), stood firm on the moderate reform package but encouraged discussion of a timetable for democratization.
Another Chinese official, Xu Jialu (
"If Hong Kong people want to march, they have that freedom. Let them march," Xu, vice chairman of the NPC's standing committee, said in Beijing.
One of today's march organizers, pro-democracy Legislator Lee Cheuk-yan (
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