What's stopping Hong Kong pro-democracy marchers from using the football pitches at Victoria Park on July 1?
Pro-Beijing group Hong Kong Celebrations Association will use soccer pitches for lion and dragon dance performances and workshops, and exhibition on regional integration
A pro-Beijing association will host a three-day cultural event featuring lion and dragon dance performances and an exhibition related to regional integration in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to mark the 21st anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule.
The march organiser, Civil Human Rights Front, said on Wednesday evening that it would observe a police order to start the protest from the park’s central lawn, but in a “passive way”, backing down after earlier urging demonstrators to gather at pedestrian zones near the park.
The pitches, which can accommodate tens of thousands of people, were the starting point of the pro-democracy march from 2004 to 2016.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, association chairman Cheng Yiu-tong said it was necessary for the event from June 30 to July 2 to take up all six pitches.