After Occupy, democracy activists gear up for battle of Hong Kong electoral reform
Parades and rallies will whip up opposition to government's reform plan, led by 14 groups uniting in new movement after Occupy
Pro-democracy groups are joining hands again, six months after the 79-day Occupy campaign ended, in a new movement calling for all lawmakers to vote against the government's political reform package next month.
Prominent among the 14 co-organising groupings are the Civil Human Rights Front, student-led Scholarism, Civic Party, Labour Party and Democratic Party.
They will launch their "citizens against fake democracy movement" on June 7, with at least 200 activists gathering outside the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui before fanning out to various parts of the city in seven teams to stage half-day marches.
Their marches would stand "in stark contrast to the propagandistic campaign of government officials" in the last few weeks that began on an aloof note when ministers stayed on board their open-top bus throughout a "flash mob"-style tour of the city, said Edward Lau Wai-tak, convenor of the group Ignite Your Belief.
Activists will engage residents and explain why lawmakers should vote down the reforms, as well as promoting a parade tentatively slated for June 14 or 21 from Victoria Park to government headquarters at Admiralty.
The front's convenor, Daisy Chan Sin-ying, recalled their vow back when the Occupy protests ended in December with police clearing the Admiralty zone.