{"id":34638,"date":"2013-07-01T17:36:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T17:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1:10081\/?p=34638 "},"modified":"2013-07-01T17:36:00","modified_gmt":"2013-07-01T17:36:00","slug":"34638-revision-v1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/?p=34638","title":{"rendered":"100,000 March in Hong Kong for Democracy, Leader\\&#8217;s Resignation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.voanews.com\/flashembed.aspx?t=vid&amp;id=1692783&amp;w=640&amp;h=429&amp;skin=embeded\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"429\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>July 01, 2013<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>At least 100,000 Hong Kong residents have joined an annual march to demand full democracy on the 16th anniversary of the former British territory&#8217;s return to Chinese sovereignty.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Many of those who joined Monday&#8217;s protest called for the city&#8217;s unelected leader Leung Chun-ying to step down, and for the government to ensure a free election for his chief executive post in 2017.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The demonstrators turned the streets into a sea of umbrellas as they braved a tropical storm&#8217;s heavy rain for the traditional July 1 march from Hong Kong&#8217;s Victoria Park to the central business district.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Ms. Ho, a Hong Kong parent who marched with her young son, told VOA the bad weather made the protest more impressive. &#8220;Since so many people have come out to brave the (tropical cyclone), the government should really listen to us,&#8221; she said.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Organizers claimed a turnout of 430,000, far exceeding the police estimate of 66,000. Hong Kong University researchers who monitored the march estimated a turnout of 103,000, an increase of about 20,000 from their figure for last year&#8217;s protest. The marches began in 2003 with a half-million participants &#8211; the largest of the protests to date.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Leung under pressure<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung took office on July 1, 2012 after being selected by a committee dominated by the pro-government establishment and Beijing loyalists. Since then, his popularity has slumped because of scandals involving his Cabinet and conduct before taking office, and public anger about high property prices and a growing influx of mainland Chinese people snapping up the city&#8217;s resources.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>China has agreed to let Hong Kong citizens directly elect their chief executive when Leung&#8217;s term expires in 2017.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Earlier Monday, Leung repeated a pledge to begin a public consultation about electoral arrangements for 2017 at an &#8220;appropriate time.&#8221; He spoke at a ceremony celebrating the anniversary of Hong Kong&#8217;s 1997 handover. Later in the day, Leung&#8217;s government promised to listen &#8220;carefully&#8221; to the marchers&#8217; views.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>Election worries<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Some of the protesters said they fear Beijing will influence election rules to block pro-democracy candidates from running for chief executive. They accused China of trying to &#8220;colonize&#8221; Hong Kong, and waved the territory&#8217;s former British colonial flag in protest.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>At the march, a 16-year-old student named Lai said he is concerned that future elections will not be fair. &#8220;Universal suffrage means equality. But from the news that I watched before, I saw that some pro-Beijing people were twisting this concept. So I think we must fight for a real and equal universal suffrage,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>China has guaranteed Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and promised to maintain its way of life for at least 50 years. It also has declared that all members of the territory&#8217;s 70-seat legislature can be directly elected in 2020 at the earliest.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Only 40 lawmakers were chosen directly by voters during the last election in 2012. The other 30 were elected by &#8220;functional&#8221; constituencies of industry and community representatives who are mostly loyal to the government.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Surveying the marchers<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Speaking to VOA by phone, Hong Kong University professor Paul Yip said his research team calculated the turnout estimate for Monday&#8217;s march by counting marchers at two points along the route. He said they also interviewed marchers at both points and estimated that almost one-third joined the procession in between.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He said he also went into the crowds himself.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;They complained about quite a lot of things, such as the education system and the housing shortage, which is very acute because young people have a lot of difficulty in acquiring a living space,&#8221; Yip said. &#8220;The marchers also complained about the performance of the Hong Kong government.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Yip said Leung should try to address those complaints soon.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Otherwise I just worry about this frustration. I think it is very contagious and will spread to other groups. And I think the people tend to be getting more and more dissatisfied with the current administration.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>Lengthy protest<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The march was peaceful and marred only by a brief scuffle between some demonstrators and police.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>VOA correspondent Dahai Han followed the procession and said protesters continued to arrive at the end point in the city&#8217;s Chater Garden park six hours after the first marchers set off.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Han also said several hundred remained in Chater Garden late into the night to start a 50-hour hunger strike in support of their demands. Pro-democracy activists plan to launch a civil disobedience campaign called &#8220;Occupy Central&#8221; next July to pressure the government to let opposition candidates compete in the 2017 vote.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>(Katy Tan in Hong Kong contributed to this report.)<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<strong style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 14px;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">Continue reading&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/seeingredinchina.com\/2013\/01\/01\/a-chinese-dissident-makes-demands-of-xi-jinping\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/confronts-01042013141808.html\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/seeingredinchina.com\/2013\/01\/01\/a-chinese-dissident-makes-demands-of-xi-jinping\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/2013\/01\/05\/china-officials-take-blame-in-deadly-shelter-fire\/\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/seeingredinchina.com\/2013\/01\/01\/a-chinese-dissident-makes-demands-of-xi-jinping\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/01\/08\/world\/asia\/supporters-back-strike-at-newspaper-in-china.html?ref=asia\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/seeingredinchina.com\/2013\/01\/01\/a-chinese-dissident-makes-demands-of-xi-jinping\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">the<\/span><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/01\/11\/world\/asia\/as-protest-ends-chinese-censorship-battle-remains.html?ref=asia\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\">&nbsp;<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/world.time.com\/2013\/01\/10\/crusading-chinese-journalists-end-their-strike-but-dont-expect-media-freedoms-to-follow\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voanews.com\/content\/tibetan-exile-pm-sends-new-year-message-of-solidarity\/1601111.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/north-korea-02132013133927.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voanews.com\/content\/tens-of-thousands-demand-full-democracy-in-hong-kong\/1692542.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\">original article<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\">.<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\">&nbsp;<\/a><\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-china-23123833\" target=\"_blank\">BBC\uff1a Hong Kong marchers demand China uphold democracy pledge<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-china-23123758\" target=\"_blank\">BBC\uff1a China media: Hong Kong anniversary<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2013\/07\/01\/us-hongkong-march-idUSBRE9600NG20130701\" target=\"_blank\">Reuters\uff1aThousands demand China honor Hong Kong democracy pledge<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2013\/07\/01\/us-hongkong-march-idUSBRE9600AP20130701\" target=\"_blank\">Reuters\uff1aThousands brave typhoon rains demanding China honor Hong Kong democracy pledge<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/defy-07012013140920.html \">RFA\uff1a Marchers Defy Storm Warning to Call for Full Elections<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&lt;div&gt;The demonstrators turned the streets into a sea of umbrellas as they braved a tropical storm&#39;s heavy rain for the traditional July 1 march from Hong Kong&#39;s Victoria Park to the central business district.&lt;\/div&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ChinaHumanRights","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34638\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}