Is Hong Kong’s July 1 rally in danger of going backwards?
Some 500,000 people marched through the city in 2003, but young people are losing faith in conventional protest methods
July 1, formally known as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, has become a day of different meanings for the city’s people.
For some, it is an opportunity to celebrate the “handover” – China’s resumption of Hong Kong’s sovereignty and the end of British colonial rule.
But for others it has become associated with voicing discontent at the governance of Hong Kong and Beijing’s growing assertiveness towards the city.
On Friday the city will witness the 19th anniversary of the handover, with a mix of celebration and protests.
“We are here today to announce to the world, in our language, that Hong Kong has entered a new era,” he said.
“For the first time in history, we, the people of Hong Kong, will be master of our own destiny. The SAR
government is fully committed to preserving the Hong Kong way of life, maintaining Hong Kong’s free economic system, upholding the rule of law, and building a more democratic society.”
The city has maintained its free economy and Hongkongers’ way of life has remained largely unchanged in the past 19 years.
The goal of “building a more democratic society”, however, suffered a heavy blow last year when the Legislative Council rejected the government’s package for electing the chief executive by universal suffrage in 2017.
Early pro-democracy marches were relatively small and the day was perceived by many predominantly as an opportunity for a public holiday.
He said it became a significant day of political activity for a proportion of the population after a watershed moment in post-handover political development in 2003.
As the city was recovering from a deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), the Tung administration was bent on implementing Article 23 of the Basic Law, which required the city to enact legislation outlawing acts of treason, secession, sedition or subversion against Beijing.
Public anger reached a climax on July 1, 2003, when half a million Hongkongers took to the streets – it remains the biggest rally to date in the city and is believed to be one of the triggers for Tung’s eventual resignation in 2005.
“Since 2003, the turnout for the July 1 march has emerged as a barometer of public sentiment and discontent with the government,” Ma said.
“The July 1 march has become the defining event in Hong Kong. Starting from May every year, activists and pan-democratic groups begin mobilising people to join the march on July 1, while the government often deliberately avoids putting forward controversial policies in an attempt to reduce the turnout.”
Dr Li Pang-kwong, director of the public governance programme at Lingnan University, said Hong Kong society had been plagued by polarisation and growing conflicts because of the problems with governance.
“Beijing and Hong Kong’s governing elite were ill-prepared for the handover and underestimated the challenges,” he said.
Li said the July 1 march had crucial symbolic meaning since 2003, but in light of the growth of localist sentiment and young people’s doubts about the effectiveness of conventional protest methods, the rally was running the risk of losing its relevance.
“Some young people have become impatient with conventional ways to express their views,” he said.
“Some youngsters and localist groups have even developed the mindset that they have nothing to do with mainland China and question the urgency of joining the July 1 march as they are indifferent to the handover.”
Many localist groups will boycott Friday’s march on the grounds that they do not agree with the organisers theme of “Showdown against 689” – a mocking reference to the number of votes won by Leung Chun-ying when he was elected chief executive in 2012.
The front attributed the low turnout for last year’s rally to protest fatigue and the lack of an obvious goal after the rejection of the government’s electoral reform package.
Li believed the turnout for this year’s march would surpass that of last year because the rally would draw a substantial number of people who were unhappy with Leung ahead of next year’s chief executive election.