Emboldened by a strong turnout for their annual protest rally, Hong Kong's democracy campaigners yesterday sought to consolidate rejuvenated support for their struggle for universal suffrage.
One of their aims is to form an alliance with popular former deputy leader Anson Chan (陳方安生), whose presence at Saturday's street rally sparked a media blitz and is credited with boosting attendance.
Organizers estimated that 58,000 people braved soaring temperatures to join the annual rally calling for full democracy in the territory.
Although police put the figure much lower at 28,000, all estimates were higher than the estimated 20,000 marchers who attended last year's rally and exceeded most pundits' expectations.
"It shows that there is still enormous demand for universal suffrage," outspoken lawmaker Emily Lau (
Political watchers had been pessimistic about this year's rally, which marked the ninth anniversary of the day the former British colony was handed over to Chinese rule.
The pro-democracy camp once had huge support for its campaign to see the implementation of universal suffrage, as promised in the city's Basic Law constitution. Since Britain ceded control of Hong Kong in 1997, it has waged a bitter feud with government officials for the reform of an electoral system that sees leaders selected by a cabal of 800 China-backed elites.
The struggle has brought pro-democracy leaders in conflict with the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which is opposed to sudden reforms in China's richest city for fear it may destabilize the economy and spark calls for change in other parts of the country.
However, democrats have seen their support base dwindle in the past year as a booming economy and popular new China-backed Chief Exective Donald Tsang (
Democratic legislators' rejection of a government bill to introduce limited political reform last year also cast the movement as belligerent and an obstacle to economic development.
The decline in its fortunes was seen in falling attendances for the annual July 1 rally, which in 2003 and 2004 attracted more than half a million people.
The success of Saturday's demonstration has been partly accredited to Chan, who remains one of the city's most popular figures despite leaving government five years ago.
Chan emerged as a democrat last year when she joined a rally to gather support against the government's reform proposals, sparking suggestions she would challenge Tsang for the top spot.
So far she has acted without the backing of the mainstream pro-democracy movement, whose leaders have kept the former chief secretary at arm's length, fearing her celebrity would overwhelm their message.
However, such was the reception she received on Saturday that the heads of the democratic groups in the legislature have invited Chan to join them.
"We have asked her for a meeting to see what we could do together," said Lau, who was among several pro-democracy leaders Chan called yesterday to offer thanks for their support.
"She said she would consider it," Lau added.
Hong Kong government officials responded to Saturday's strong rally showing with a statement saying it took the calls for universal suffrage seriously and all options were open to discussion.
Echoing repeated calls by Chinese leaders not to upset social harmony in Hong Kong, Constitutional Affairs Secretary Stephen Lam (
When Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a vacation photo on Valentine’s Day and captioned it “Puppy Mountain,” it became a sensation in China and even created a tourist destination. Guo had gone on a hike while visiting his hometown of Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province late last month. When reviewing the photographs, he saw something he had not noticed before: A mountain shaped like a dog’s head rested on the ground next to the Yangtze River, its snout perched at the water’s edge. “It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Guo said.
TURNAROUND: The Liberal Party had trailed the Conservatives by a wide margin, but that was before Trump threatened to make Canada the US’ 51st state Canada’s ruling Liberals, who a few weeks ago looked certain to lose an election this year, are mounting a major comeback amid the threat of US tariffs and are tied with their rival Conservatives, according to three new polls. An Ipsos survey released late on Tuesday showed that the left-leaning Liberals have 38 percent public support and the official opposition center-right Conservatives have 36 percent. The Liberals have overturned a 26-point deficit in six weeks, and run advertisements comparing the Conservative leader to Trump. The Conservative strategy had long been to attack unpopular Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but last month he
Chinese authorities said they began live-fire exercises in the Gulf of Tonkin on Monday, only days after Vietnam announced a new line marking what it considers its territory in the body of water between the nations. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration said the exercises would be focused on the Beibu Gulf area, closer to the Chinese side of the Gulf of Tonkin, and would run until tomorrow evening. It gave no further details, but the drills follow an announcement last week by Vietnam establishing a baseline used to calculate the width of its territorial waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. State-run Vietnam News
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
RSS