1 February 2015 Last updated at 09:02 ET
Thousands of pro-democracy activists have returned to the streets of Hong Kong for their first big rally since mass protests last year.
But the number of protesters – put by organisers at 13,000 but by police at half that figure – was far lower than the earlier demonstrations.
Their key demand is fully democratic elections for the territory’s leader.
A large police presence was in force to prevent demonstrators from occupying key areas of Hong Kong.
But the protesters did not carry out a repeat of the occupations that shut down parts of the city for more than two months last year.
Candidate vetting
Last year’s Occupy demonstrations at their peak were attended by tens of thousands of people from all walks of life. There were later violent clashes with police, and the final protest camp was dismantled in December.
One organiser of the latest march, Daisy Chan, told the South China Morning Post that although the turnout was lower than expected it “only shows that Hong Kongers are no longer satisfied with conventional ways of protest” and people were taking up “new ways to pressure the government”.
A pro-democracy protester during the march to demand universal suffrage (01 February 2015)
One of the main demands of the protesters is universal suffrage
The protesters were watched by about 2,000 police officers as soon as they began their march through the city’s upmarket shopping and financial districts.
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At the scene: Carrie Gracie, BBC China editor
Those who took to the streets in Hong Kong said they needed to stand up and be counted, if only to protect existing freedoms. That means exercising the freedom to march even if no-one in power is listening.
Some of the younger marchers put the low turnout down to fatigue, saying large numbers would pour back on to the streets when the moment was right. But one 60-year-old cautioned against youthful optimism, warning that Hong Kong would have to wait for the downfall of the Chinese Communist Party before seeing genuine democracy.
