Peaceful Protest




To everyone's surprise, Hong Kong people turned out on the streets for a second year in a row on July 1st, which is a public holiday to commemorate the hand-over from the British to China. Unhappy with the slow progress the government of Hong Kong is making in order to establish fully democratic elections. Currently the Legislative Council (governing body) is made up of mostly appointed members, who are chosen mainly for their "allegiance" to BeiJing. It is an interesting time to be living in Hong Kong and to witness first hand a growing popular movement recently which has totally taken everyone by surprise because until a couple of years ago, Hong Kong people were considered a-political or apathetic as I liked to describe them.

The march started in Causeway Bay and ended in Central where the government buildings are. The estimated turnout was 500,000 although the local authorities put the count lower. For several hours, starting with the early afternoon and well into the night, there was a steady stream of white-clad humanity coming into Central despite it being the hottest day of the year.




© evangelo costadimas 2004

Posted: Thursday - July 01, 2004 at 01:55 PM          

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