Flu fears seen as no reason to shun march and handover dates

Pan-democrats and Beijing loyalists yesterday said they were confident that swine flu would not deter supporters from their respective camps from joining the July 1 march and activities to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the handover.

Both sides are making final preparations to drum up support ahead of the two events. In previous years, turnouts have been taken as indicative of public dissatisfaction with the government's performance.

Ip Kwok-him of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said there was no reason people should stay at home on the morning of July 1, when Beijing loyalists will hold their traditional gala march ending at the Hong Kong Stadium.

'Why should swine flu be a problem? There should not be any concerns for people to join July 1 celebrations, as the Hong Kong Stadium is a large open space,' Mr Ip said.

Jose Yu Sun-say, a Standing Committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference who is involved in organising the gala event, said he was confident the government could control the flu outbreak.

'Every major city around the world is fighting the pandemic, and people are still busy with their regular activities. Our public activities in Hong Kong should also not be affected,' Mr Yu said, adding that a series of celebratory activities would also be held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.