Thousands march for democracy in HK

Pro-democracy supporters led by Legislator Emily Lau hold a large banner during a major protest march in Hong Kong yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Thousands through Hong Kong yesterday, calling for the right to elect their government by 2012 -- a date leaders in Beijing have ruled out.

The march, joined by religious, political and civil leaders, was the latest in a series of protests by residents angry that they will have to wait at least another decade before they can choose their own leader and legislators.

"We are ready now," shouted hundreds of people at Victoria Park, where they gathered waving flags, singing songs and chanting prayers before setting off on the march. Police put the number of people leaving the park at 6,800.

Organizers said about 20,000 people joined the march.

Li Luk-yan, 45, and his wife, Irene Siu, were in the crowd with their two young sons.

"At some point, we'll have to pass the baton to them. They need to understand what democracy means and why we need to keep fighting," Li, a publishing executive, said.

Beijing last month that its semiautonomous region could elect its own leader in 2017 and all of its legislators sometime after that, possibly 2020 at the earliest.

The announcement came as a bitter blow to the territory, where most had hoped for 2012. Many are also doubtful that Beijing will deliver on that pledge.

Hong Kong has a vast amount of financial and personal liberties, including the right to hold protests and criticize the government -- freedoms not allowed elsewhere in China.

Still, residents are unhappy that they cannot have a greater say in who runs their government.

Hong Kong's leader is currently chosen by an 800-member committee dominated by Beijing loyalists, including many of the city's influential tycoons. Only half of the territory's 60 lawmakers are elected, with the rest are picked by special interest groups.

"If Hong Kong's leader is elected by the people, he has to be accountable to the people, not to the business community as he is now," Li said.

Beijing consistently ruled out allowing the booming financial center of 6.9 million people to directly elect its representatives, arguing that the territory is not yet politically mature enough to do so.

Many Hong Kong's activists and lawmakers have been outspoken critics of human rights violations in China. Some, like the founder of the main opposition Democratic Party, Martin Lee (李柱銘), are banned from traveling to mainland China.

A barrister-turned-lawmaker, Lee told reporters that the rally sent a strong message to Beijing that Hong Kong people wanted "real, genuine democracy."

The democrats have dismissed Beijing's announcement as an empty gesture. They say not only are there no guarantees that direct elections for the chief executive will take place in 2017, but that candidates will still need to be put forward by a nomination committee, the makeup of which has not yet been agreed.

"There are so many blanks in this proposal," Lee said. "We still don't know if we will have genuine elections for all of the legislature in 2020 or what the screening procedure will be like for the chief executive. We demand to know all the details."