Pre-June 4 democracy march to end at liaison office of the central government in Hong Kong

Demonstrators in this year's annual march ahead of the June 4 vigil will end their route at the liaison office of the central government in Hong Kong, a symbolic destination at which they intend to express their hope for a more democratic China.

This is the first time the march, usually held on the Sunday before the vigil, is to wind up at the liaison office since the office moved to Sai Ying Pun in 2000. Because the destination has been changed from the usual end point at the central government's office in Tamar, marchers will gather at the Southorn Playground in Wan Chai on May 31, instead of Victoria Park.

Albert Ho Chun-yan, chairman of march organiser the Alliance in Support Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, said the office was "symbolic to the power of the central authority."

Ho said because Beijing was in control of local affairs, including political reform, and was responsible for suppression in China, the new destination was part of a broadening in scope of the annual gathering to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

"So I think by protesting at this building and … directly against those inside the building would [convey] the strong feeling of all the protesters," he concluded.

The nature of the vigil, set to take place on June 4 at 8pm inside the Victoria Park, has been a hotly debated topic among university students over the past months.

Some disagree with the event's call for "a more democratic China", a conflict that prompted the Hong Kong Federation of Students to pull out.

However, after some of the federation's university members left the organisation over that conflict, the alliance re-invited it to provide speakers. It also invited representatives from individual institutions including those that have left the federation.

In another reference to a wider democracy struggle in China, this year's vigil will include words of support for the 300 mainlanders arrested for supporting the Occupy movement.