Young and old sing out their hopes at democracy concert
More than 2,500 Hongkongers took part in a mass concert for democracy last night featuring 600 performers aged four to 86.
To classic tunes from Under the Lion Rock to Stand By Me, the audience was urged not to give up the dream of achieving freedom and democracy.
Speaking at the 'Hong Kong Dream' concert at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun expressed the affection he had for Hong Kong since first coming to the city in 1948.
He said his participation in this year's July 1 pro-democracy march was a reflection of his willingness to 'walk with the people'.
'Hong Kong people always have very simple dreams: they want peace, a stable and happy life, to have respect from others as well as enjoy freedom and human rights,' Cardinal Zen said.
Before the concert he encouraged Christians to express their views of the government's green paper on constitutional development.
The Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, chairman of the Hong Kong Civic Education Foundation, called on people to continue fighting for their dreams of freedom and democracy.
'We should have the freedom to choose our leaders,' Mr Chu told the audience, many of whom were youngsters.
He urged them to pass on their aspirations for democracy.
With the audience singing along to the oldies and classic tunes that ranged from the 1940s to the present, the concert was marked by loud applause and cheers.
An emotional moment came when the audience joined hands to sing the '80s classic Under the Lion Rock - a song that recalls people's hardship in striving for a better life.
The concert featured the Song Singers choir, Malaysia-born singer-songwriter Charles Teo Chia-beng and veteran musician Howard McCrary.
The concert was the first indoor concert to be held in Hong Kong to promote democracy and freedom.
It was also the first activity organised by Hong Kong Civic Education Foundation, which was established six months ago.
The Hong Kong Democratic Development Network organised an outdoor concert with a similar theme in 2004 at Victoria Park.
