One year ago today, Premier Wen Jiabao concluded a visit to Hong Kong aimed at bolstering confidence and brightening public sentiments - at a time when the Sars-plagued city was shrouded by pessimism, anger and self-doubt. He painted a rosy picture of the Hong Kong economy under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, signed during his visit. No less important, he charmed people with his folksy style. Mr Wen shook hands with ordinary people on a walkabout in a Sha Tin shopping arcade and visited an Amoy Gardens family hit by Sars. The premier was keen to demonstrate to the people that the new leadership under himself and President Hu Jintao would listen to the voices of the people. One day after he left, more than 500,000 people took to the streets to voice their discontent with the Tung leadership, its policies and mishandling of a number of issues including the legislation on Article 23. The rest is history. One year on, there has been a sea change on the economic, social and political scenes. Economically, the economy has rebounded after several quarters of decline. The jobless rate has dropped markedly. Deflation has tailed off. The worst is over. Politically, the row over universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008 was brought to a bitter end after Beijing ruled out a one-person, one-vote method for choosing the next chief executive and legislature. Even so, after 15 years of icy relations and, at times, confrontation, there are more signs of a gradual thaw between the democrats and Beijing, with greater awareness on both sides of the importance of talking to each other. That said, disagreements over the use of such slogans as 'return power to the people' at rallies say a lot about the cross-currents among the democrats - and society at large - over their approach towards the communist-led government and mainland-Hong Kong relations. From a positive perspective, it reflects a degree of maturity, and increased sensitivity in society, over the best approach to take in pressing for aspirations and demands without needlessly provoking Beijing. Many people were shocked and awed by Beijing's swift rejection of early direct elections; no doubt some probably remain angry, gloomy and doubtful about the sincerity of both the central and Hong Kong governments in listening to their views. Some may give the rally a miss out of sheer political fatigue, or because of confusion caused by conflicting remarks from organisers and pro-democracy groups about the messages and slogans in the rally. There is a more likely scenario, however. That is, people who felt good taking part in last year's rally will see tomorrow's march as a natural extension of an ongoing drive to stand up and be counted on a day of historical significance. They may have decided the key message they tried to convey last July 1 has not yet been heeded by the powers that be. A coalition of pan-democracy groups has set out a package of themes for the rally: Fight for democracy, Safeguard freedom, Rekindle hope, and Rebuild Hong Kong. Those messages reflect a strong sense of conviction, determination and optimism among people over their right, and power, to have their voices counted. Tomorrow's rally will likely have a smaller turnout than last year's half-million. Even so, it will pose no small challenge, to Beijing and the Tung leadership, in coping with the unrelenting aspirations of people for democracy and better governance. Chris Yeung is the Post's editor-at-large
