Activists yesterday faced factional divisions over slogans to be chanted at a rally later this week that will call on China to allow democracy in Hong Kong.
Factions within the movement battling for electoral reform debated whether to tone down slogans to be chanted at tomorrow's march, which is expected to attract 300,000 activists.
Some want to scrap the planned slogan "give power back to the people," while organizers say they will stand firm for the statement's inclusion.
The Civil Human Rights Front, the rally's lead organizer, says the split will keep activists from the protest and send a weaker message to Chinese leaders in Beijing.
"Democrats are giving confusing messages," said spokeswoman Jackie Hung. "The message is no longer clear -- people will be confused or think we are not united. And that will keep people away."
The march, held on the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's switch from British colonial rule to Chinese control, follows one on July 1 last year in which an unprecedented 500,000 people took to the streets.
Last year's rally was fueled by concern over an unpopular antisubversion bill, whereas organizers expect this year's march will be driven by anger over China's declarations in April to stymie democratic reform.
The split in the democratic camp has been brewing since more moderate democrats began a charm offensive to win over the city's rulers in Beijing. These democrats said they would instead chant "Fight for democracy," "Safeguard freedom," "Rekindle hope" and "Rebuild Hong Kong."
Local tourism operators were grumbling that tour groups from China are inexplicably slowing to a trickle.
Between 400 to 600 Chinese tour groups normally enter Hong Kong each day, but that number has plunged to about 50 that are due to arrive each day between Wednesday and Friday, said Charles Ng, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Inbound Tour Operators Association.
The tour industry will lose as much as HK$353 million (US$45 million) during the three-day drop in visits by mainlanders, but the number of tourists is scheduled to bounce back to normal on Saturday, Ng said.
Opposition lawmakers voiced suspicions yesterday that Beijing had stepped in to prevent Chinese from getting a look at Hong Kong people demanding greater political rights in a type of rally that would not be allowed in the mainland.
Travel industry executives say they will lose millions of dollars in revenue over the next few days, and some said Beijing may also be trying to stir up discontent among business owners, who will blame the democratic activists.
A woman who answered the phone at the Chinese government's liaison office in Hong Kong said that no one was available for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, beleaguered Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa got a boost yesterday when a public opinion survey showed his popularity had risen.
Tung, who has been struggling in the polls for more than a year, saw his popularity rise to 45 on a one to 100 scale, his highest rating in four months, the Hong Kong University survey showed.
It also showed his disapproval rating had declined, with 59 percent of respondents now giving him the thumbs-down compared to 64 percent last month.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
RSS