Hong Kong activists make their voices heard at July 1 protest
Annual mass rally proceeds relatively peacefully as fears of violence by breakaway ‘black mask’ protesters prove unfounded
Tens of thousands took to the streets of Hong Kong for the annual July 1 protest march yesterday as the city marked the 19th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule, but fears of orchestrated violence by breakaway radicals proved unfounded.
Apart from scuffles at Government House that prompted police to use pepper spray against protesters, and the arrests of three people accused of carrying offensive weapons outside Beijing’s liaison office, the mass rally was peaceful.
Leading muted official celebrations as a mark of respect for two firefighters who were killed in an industrial building blaze last month, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying vowed to uphold the city’s core values, while President Xi Jinpingsaid in Beijing that the central government would support the city’s leader and continue to thoroughly implement the principles of “one country, two systems” and “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong”.
The Civil Human Rights Front, the organiser of the annual mass rally, put the turnout at 110,000, compared with last year’s 48,000.
Police said the number of marchers peaked at 19,300, compared with 19,650 last year.