July 1 looms before us, and Hong Kong’s political activists are gearing up for perhaps the fiercest protests yet amidst celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of the territory’s handover back to China.
In general, pressure is mounting on the new SAR administration, headed by chief executive-elect CY Leung, to answer the citizens’ calls for democratic reform. Adding fuel to the fire, though, anti-government sentiment has reached a boiling point in recent months over a series of incidents.
Most notably, there was an outpouring of dissatisfaction over the results of the chief executive election in Marcha string of scandals surrounding the two primary candidates that left them both unpalatable to the public. The alarming exposé of illegal structures at the residences of some of the city’s most senior officials—among them Leung himself and his defeated opponent Henry Tang—have resulted in lost credibility.
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More immediately, the suspicious death of mainland activist Li Wangyang—which officials are calling a suicide—has stoked public outrage in the city, and thousands of people took to the streets calling for a thorough investigation of the case.
Also on the radar are shocking revelations about outgoing chief executive Donald Tsang’s overly cozy relationships with local businessmen and acceptance of lavish free trips. Corruption is a big issue this year, given that allegations have also been launched against some of Hong Kong’s richest real-estate developers, the three Kwok brothers, who have been arrested by the city’s anti-corruption agency, the ICAC, and since released on bail.
All these events have been seen by many Hongkongers as a serious violation of the city’s core values—human rights, democracy and rule of law—as well as a stain on its reputation as one of the world’s least corrupt cities. Behind all the political scuffles, too, lurk the nagging issues of rising property prices and an ever-widening wealth gap.
So it is with these grievances in mind that this year’s July 1 marchers will call for change as they blaze their way through Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to the new government office building at Tamar in Admiralty.