Tens of thousands of protesters yesterday joined a pro-democracy march in Hong Kong, the anniversary of the territory’s handover to China, in what organizers described as an opportunity to work out the movement’s next step.
Crowds gathered in Victoria Park in the afternoon, many carrying yellow umbrellas — a symbol of the democracy movement — before marching to the government’s offices in central Hong Kong.
“The most important thing is to express disapproval to the Hong Kong and Chinese communist government for suppressing the freedoms of Chinese people and real elections for Hong Kong people,” protester Wong Man-ying, 61, said.
Photo: EPA
“Things are quickly transforming to fit a Chinese model,” office clerk Anna Cheung added. “We need Beijing to hear our voices.”
The march’s organizers, Civil Human Rights Front, said the turnout was 48,000, lower than in previous years, after almost 12 months of rallies in the territory.
Last year’s march saw huge crowds gather as discontent surged over restrictions by Beijing on how Hong Kong would choose its next leader, and organizers said a record 510,000 attended.
Photo: EPA
“Momentum has slowed down after the veto over political reform,” Civil Human Rights Front’s Johnson Yeung (楊政賢) said, but he insisted turnout numbers this year were not important.
Instead the march was a chance to reshape the message of the democracy movement, he said, which has splintered since the end of the mass rallies in December last year.
“Right now people are asking: ‘What next?’ after the veto,” Yeung said. “We hope the march can set the political agenda and give citizens a chance to discuss how to bring the democratic movement forward.”
Photo: Reuters
Political groups set up stalls and addressed the crowds on loudspeakers while protesters fanned themselves in the oppressive heat.
In a speech at a ceremony for the handover anniversary, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (梁振英) criticized lawmakers who rejected the reform package, using instability in Europe to argue that other issues should now take precedence over democratic reforms.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS