Hong Kong protests: thousands join rally in Central to demand universal suffrage in upcoming election
- Organiser urges foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong officials if there is still no universal suffrage in Legco election later this year
- Hong Kong activists call Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s re-election a morale boost for their months-long protest movement
Thousands of people joined a rally in Hong Kong’s business district on Sunday to demand universal suffrage in the legislative election in September, urging the international community to impose sanctions on the authorities if their calls fall on deaf ears.
The demonstration took place at Edinburgh Place in Central a day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen won re-election for a second term in a victory that was seen as a referendum on the self-ruled island’s approach to Beijing.
“In the coming year, Hongkongers must continue to make our voices heard by the international community, to tell them that our fight against authoritarianism is not over yet,” said Ventus Lau Wing-hong, spokesman of the organiser, the Hong Kong Civil Assembly Team.
“If Hong Kong has a Legislative Council that represents the voices of the people, that defends the interests of Hong Kong, the extradition bill would have been vetoed long ago. We would not have needed seven months of bloodshed.”