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Federation of Students members including secretary general Alex Chow (front, centre), hold banners supporting the boycott. Photo: Nora Tam

Students say restrictions on strike events are 'political suppression'

March organisers told they can't use Victoria Park on National Day, while class boycott events are restricted on noise, safety grounds

Organisers of an October 1 rally billed as a curtain-raiser to an "era of civil disobedience" have been told they cannot use their favoured starting point, Victoria Park, as it has been booked for National Day celebrations.

Meanwhile, students planning a series of gatherings in Tamar Park to mark a boycott of classes next week have been told they will face restrictions on their use of the site, next to government headquarters in Admiralty.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department cited practical grounds for both decisions. But organisers of both events warned of a public backlash if the government used administrative means to try to prevent protests amid heightened tension after Beijing set a rigid framework for nominations ahead of the 2017 chief executive election.

"We suspect it is political suppression by means of administration," said Alex Chow Yong-kang, secretary general of boycott organiser the Federation of Students. "If the government rejects all of our applications for peaceful assemblies in public areas, it would force us to escalate the campaign of civil disobedience."

Both the student strikes and the National Day rally are seen as precursors to the Occupy Central blockade of the business hub, which is expected soon.

The Civil Human Rights Front, organiser of the rally, applied to use the central lawn of Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to gather ahead of a march to Chater Road in Central. About 50,000 marchers are expected.

But department director Michelle Li Mei-sheung rejected the application, citing the use of the adjacent soccer pitches by a group to celebrate National Day.

"After considering the crowd capacity … we believe it would be difficult to accommodate an additional 50,000 people," Li said yesterday.

Front convenor Johnson Yeung Ching-yin said the decision was "weird", as the department had approved previous requests to use the park, even when other areas were in use. He asked for a written explanation as it could affect the group's application for police approval.

Lai Hau-kwong, assistant police commander for North Point, said it was premature to say whether the police would issue the "letter of no objection" required for the rally. He said police could not decide on behalf of the department whether the organisers could use the park.

Yeung said organisers had contingency plans should the park remain unavailable.

Separately, the department sent a list of requirements to the boycott organisers. Citing safety and noise concerns, it said planned public lectures and forums could take place on no more than three days, with all events to end by 11pm. Only a specific section of Tamar Park could be used and the stage would have to be checked by a structural engineer.

Chow said the time limits were unreasonable, and the federation would negotiate with the administration. Events to mark the boycott begin on Monday at Chinese University in Sha Tin.

Students have urged Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and ministers overseeing political reform to address the public during next week's boycott.

Meanwhile, former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang, head of pro-democracy group Hong Kong 2020, yesterday requested a meeting with present incumbent Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Chan wants assurances that a second round of consultation on reform will yield "substantive improvement" to the composition of the 1,200-strong nominating committee from which candidates will need majority support to run in 2017.

And Occupy Central's finance and banking professionals group issued a second open letter to President Xi Jinping yesterday. They told Xi Hongkongers wanted true democracy and said: "Don't stage a Tiananmen crackdown in Hong Kong. The whole world is watching." The letter ran as an advertisement in and .

And Independent Police Complaints Council chief Larry Kwok Lam-kwong said the watchdog had yet to decide whether to send observers to the Occupy Central protest.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: 'Suppression' fear as limits set on rallies
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