A rally along Victoria Harbour is the latest display of discontent over the government's reclamation plans
A blue ribbon more than 3,000 metres long was unfurled along the edge of Victoria Harbour yesterday by protesters angry at the government's insistence on reclaiming the harbour to build the Central-Wan Chai bypass road.
About 12,000 people gathered in the latest show of public discontent about the issue. It followed a rally last month in which 20,000 people formed a human chain that stretched from Edinburgh Place in Central to Golden Bauhinia Square at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
Following in their footsteps, protesters yesterday held up the blue ribbon - claimed to be the longest in the world - and chanted for an end to reclamation. Once the ribbon reached Golden Bauhinia Square, the rally rang out with the protesters' anthem - Our Blue Harbour. One chorus went: 'Those on the top, please stop the reclamation. Uphold your conscience, listen to the outcry.'
Kwok Ka-ki, convenor of the Action Group on Protection of Victoria Harbour, which organised yesterday's rally, said the public was becoming increasingly frustrated over the issue.
'The government is not listening to us because there is no democracy, no responsible government,' he said. 'So support democracy, support the campaign.'