Pro-Beijing papers see protest as secondary
Three of Hong Kong's mainland-backed newspapers painted a much more upbeat picture of July 1, focusing on the handover anniversary celebrations instead of the protest march.
Wen Wei Po carried a picture of the march on its front page, but little coverage was given to the rally in the Ta Kung Pao and Hong Kong Commercial Daily.
On its front page, Ta Kung Pao carried a picture of a smiling mother carrying her son who held both mainland and Hong Kong flags. The Commercial Daily front page carried a photograph of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa raising a toast at a ceremony to mark the handover anniversary.
The comments of the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong on the march featured prominently in all three newspapers.
'Hong Kong people continue to enjoy their freedoms, however some of the slogans and signs [in the march] this year go against the people's wish for stability and development,' it was reported as saying.
Another common message carried on the front pages of the three newspapers was that the chief executive 'will listen carefully and respond to the wishes of the people'.
The newspapers also quoted Mr Tung as saying that he 'acknowledged further improvements in governance and the economy were needed'.
Crowd figures of 160,000 to 200,000 were reported in the three newspapers, based on the police estimate of 200,000.
Ta King Pao accused organisers of inflating the attendance figure.
