Thousands marched in Hong Kong yesterday to demand a greater say in how their leaders will be chosen, expressing fears that China will limit long-awaited political reforms.
“Democracy will prevail” read some banners as protesters sang and shouted slogans against the government of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, less than one month after the start of an official public consultation on a future electoral system.
“Because we are Hong Kong citizens, we must vote,” said Sharon Tang, a trading company employee, adding that residents of the former British colony have the intelligence to choose their leaders.
China, which took back Hong Kong in 1997, has promised that its people will be able to vote in 2017 for their next chief executive.
Currently the territory’s leader is elected by a 1,200-strong pro-Beijing committee.
However, many fear that China will control the choice of candidates to secure the election of a sympathetic official.
“Hong Kong people have been on the streets over the years to strive for what we deserve, and what the Chinese government has not given us,” Charles Tam, 25, said.
The marchers left Victoria Park — named after the 19th-century British monarch who oversaw Hong Kong’s seizure from China — in mid-afternoon and were to stage a rally in the Central financial district afterward.
A poster depicting Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (梁振英) with an egg plastered on his head was hung over the park lawn.
Organizers said more than 50,000 people were expected to take part in the annual protest, but turnout appeared lower than in some previous years.
Marchers aim to let the Hong Kong government and the Chinese Communist Party know “that Hong Kong people need and want real democracy,” said Johnson Yeung, convenor of rally organizers the Civil Human Rights Front.
Other issues, such as calls for more labor rights and better urban planning, were also raised.
Hong Kong has its own government and legal system, and its residents enjoy rights and freedoms unknown to Chinese.
However, there are frequent protests in the city of 7 million over slow progress toward full democracy, and discontent is also growing over sky-high housing prices and a growing wealth gap.
Mimicking the Occupy protests of 2011 in cities such as New York and London, some activists have threatened to take over the streets of Hong Kong’s business district later this year to try to force officials to guarantee a fair electoral system.
A “New Year Civil Referendum” was also conducted in Victoria Park and over the Internet yesterday, and drew about 55,000 voters by late afternoon.
The poll asked Hong Kong people their preference on how candidates for the leadership post should be chosen.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
Taiwan’s first African swine fever (ASF) case has been confirmed and would soon be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Research Institute yesterday completed the analysis of samples collected on Tuesday from dead pigs at a hog farm in Taichung and found they were ASF-positive. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Animal Quarantine Division chief Lin Nien-nung (林念農) said the result would be reported to the WOAH and Taiwan’s major trade partners would also be notified, adding that pork exports would be suspended. As of Friday, all samples
RSS