After half a year of anti-government unrest, ‘800,000 marchers’ take to Hong Kong streets
- Organisers claim another massive turnout, while police say it peaked at 183,000
- Procession from Causeway Bay to Central largely peaceful until nightfall, when protesters hurled petrol bombs at court buildings
Hundreds of thousands flooded Hong Kong’s commercial heart on Sunday to mark six months of their fight against the government, saying that while city residents had become more united and won international support, officials still failed to meet their demands for greater democracy and accountability.
Organiser the Civil Human Rights Front estimated 800,000 people marched from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to Chater Road in Central. Police said turnout peaked at 183,000.
“The political message is clear. People are resilient and people are persistent with the five demands,” said Eric Lai Yan-ho, deputy convenor of the front, urging Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to meet their requests, which include an independent inquiry into police use of force at protests.
The front, which had police approval to march until 10pm, called time on the action at about 8.15pm. Its leaders said they felt pressured by the large police presence, accusing the force of intimidating participants in Central, where small stand-offs between officers and protesters occurred.
The march, which commemorated UN Human Rights Day on Tuesday, came a day before the six-month anniversary of the start of the protests on June 9, when an estimated 1 million people took to the streets to decry a government extradition bill.