Hong Kong localists remain defiant at ‘historic’ rally
Independence advocates vow to press on, despite being barred from September Legislative Council polls
Hong Kong independence advocates banned from next month’s Legislative Council elections vowed at a defiant rally on Friday night that they would press on with their cause and campaign for wider public support.
The gathering, dubbed the “first pro-independence rally in Hong Kong”, went peacefully at Tamar Park outside the government headquarters in Admiralty.
About 2,500 people, mostly the young and some middle-aged, took part, monitored by about 500 police officers on the ground with another 500 on stand-by at police stations.
Five of the six disqualified pro-independence candidates attended the rally. Taking centre stage from among them was high-profile Hong Kong Indigenous member Edward Leung Tin-kei.
Referring to the stage backdrop reading “Hong Kong Independence” in Chinese characters, Leung said: “This is the first time that these four characters ... have appeared in Tamar Park and so many Hongkongers came out. This is a historic moment.”
He said he could not utter those words himself because he would launch a legal challenge against his disqualification.