Hundreds march in Hong Kong to support student-led US gun protests

Organisers estimate turnout of up to 800 for Hong Kong rally as ‘March for Our Lives’ protests sweep across US and cities around the world demanding end to gun violence

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Pupils and their families gather in Central for a ‘sibling march’ as part of the March for Our Lives movement. Photo: David Wong

Published: 6:00pm, 25 Mar 2018Updated: 11:16pm, 25 Mar 2018

Hundreds of Hong Kong residents and activists picked up placards and marched at the Central harbourfront on Sunday to express solidarity with the student-led gun-control rallies sweeping the United States and around the world.

More than 800 “March for Our Lives” rallies were expected to take place across the US and cities including London, Sydney and Tokyo over the weekend demanding US lawmakers and officials put a stop to gun violence.

Youth power: hundreds of thousands of students march in US cities to demand gun control

The movement began to blossom after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, Florida last month that left 17 dead. Hundreds of thousands of students and their supporters took part in the march in Washington DC on Saturday.

The crowd fills Pennsylvania Avenue during the ‘March for Our Lives’ on Saturday in Washington DC. Photo: AP

Organisers of the Hong Kong offshoot – six women who mobilised through social media and WhatsApp – estimated the turnout at around 700 to 800, mostly American citizens.

Many called for tighter gun control in the US including stricter background checks, higher legal age limits and bans on “weapons of war” assault rifles. Marching from the Central Piers to nearby City Hall, they wore orange ribbons – a symbol of the movement – and held up placards with messages such as “Enough is enough” and “Protect kids not guns”.

“The fact that we have to fight to ban an AK-47 assault rifle … makes me sick,” said co-organiser Marney Schaumann, an American expatriate. “These are weapons of war with no other purpose or function and should not be in civilian hands.”