The Mainland Affairs Council on Tuesday said that China and Hong Kong should face calls for universal suffrage by Hong Kongers squarely, following a massive protest march which took place that day.
The council said the Hong Kong people took to the streets to underscore their appeal for universal suffrage and defend their right to self-rule.
It urged “the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to address the will of the Hong Kong people, tolerate differences and respond to related appeals in a rational manner.”
Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her predecessor, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), both lent support to Hong Kongers on Facebook.
“Today, let us cheer for our Hong Kong friends who took to the streets to fight for universal suffrage and freedom,” Su wrote.
Tsai wrote: “Democracy is our shared pursuit. We are with you in rain or wind. Cheer for Hong Kong.”
The march started on Tuesday at 3:20pm at Victoria Park, with people from Taiwan, Macau and China also participating.
Taiwanese groups — Taiwan March, which comprises student protesters from the Sunflower movement that occupied the legislature in March, as well as the Taiwan Labor Front — were among the marchers.
The organizers also aired videos of remarks by Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), the two main student leaders of the Sunflower movement, during the protest.
The protest march came after an informal poll on democratic reform drew an unexpectedly high turnout of nearly 800,000 votes, but was branded “illegal and invalid” by the Chinese authorities.
Beijing had promised to let all Hong Kong residents vote for their next leader in 2017. Currently, a 1,200-strong pro-Beijing committee chooses the city’s chief executive.
However, China says those wishing to seek election will have to be approved by a nomination committee.
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