Thousands turn out to decry Hong Kong independence

Opponents of Hong Kong independence staged a show of force yesterday as thousands of people took to the streets around the ­government headquarters in one of the largest rallies of its kind in recent years.

The demonstration, which ­organisers said was attended by more than 40,000 people, followed a withering attack on separatism by Beijing’s top man in the city, Zhang Xiaoming, who upped the ante in the controversy over the Legislative Council oath- taking saga.

Zhang accused localist lawmakers of “blasphemy” against the oaths and of treating the wider Hong Kong community like ­“idiots”.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying also warned in a rare interview with Xinhua that his government would not allow ­independence advocates to “appear in the city’s political system”, including the Legislative Council and civil service, or to spread their ideas in schools.

Leung also hinted that he would seek re-election, as he claimed that he had achieved much of his election promises four years ago, and now Hong Kong “needs to continue with the work” he started.

At the rally outside the Legco complex in Admiralty yesterday, protesters also voiced their ­support for Beijing’s ruling last week that lawmakers who failed to take the Legislative Council oath “sincerely” would face ­disqualification.

The rally’s organiser, the Anti-Hong Kong Independence Alliance, said more than 40,000 attended the rally .