Another massive march in Hong Kong secures approval despite police earlier asking organisers to postpone over safety concerns

Organisers will go ahead with another massive march against Hong Kong’s embattled government on Sunday, having secured approval in principle from police who had asked them to postpone it until August because of safety concerns in light of escalating protest violence.

After a meeting with police on Wednesday, the Civil Human Rights Front said it was now waiting for a formal letter of no objection, the announcement coming before thousands of mostly senior citizens took to the streets in a silent demonstration in support of youngsters who have been leading regular protests against the government’s now-suspended extradition bill.

Organisers said 9,000 people had joined Wednesday’s peaceful, “silver-haired generation” march from Chater Garden in Central to government headquarters in Admiralty, also calling for an independent, judge-led inquiry into the use of force by police against protesters.

A pro-establishment source revealed on Wednesday that after the bill was suspended on June 15, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s political allies had advised her in a closed-door meeting to appoint a formal commission of inquiry. Lam had made it clear that would not happen “as long as she is the chief executive”, the source said.

The front, which organised two mass protests that drew historic numbers onto the streets in June, insisted the inquiry was critical, as it announced details of its Sunday march from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to the Court of Final Appeal in Central.