‘It’s not about independence’, protesters in march against disqualification of Legco candidates say
Some are marching for freedom of speech and fair elections; only three of the six banned Legco aspirants showed up
Hundreds of people took to the streets on Sunday in a protest march against the disqualification of six pro-independence Legislative Council candidates, as marchers said they were there to defend Hong Kong’s political rights and freedom of speech – not to support independence.
Organisers estimated that 1,300 protesters took part, while a police spokeswoman said the march’s turnout peaked at 760.
The rally drew lukewarm response from localist groups. Among the six banned aspirants, only Alice Lai Yi-man, Nakade Hitsujiko and Yeung Ke-cheong showed up, while independent candidate James Chan Kwok-keung, Hong Kong National Party’s Chan Ho-tin, and Hong Kong Indigenous’ Edward Leung Tin-kei did not attend.
March organiser Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, convenor of Civil Human Rights Front – an alliance of pan-democratic groups – had estimated that up to 2,000 people would gather in Causeway Bay when the march kicked off at 3pm.
After the protest ended outside Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s office in Admiralty at 4.30pm, Sham said he was neither satisfied nor disappointed with the turnout. “Many people came out to express their discontent, so how can we be happy when people are angry?” he explained.
One of the participants, Chily Chau, a second-year social work student at Baptist University, said: “I have reservations about independence as a way out for Hong Kong... and I might not vote for a pro-independence candidate if I were given the choice. But Hongkongers should at least be allowed to vote in a fair election.”