HONG KONG - Tens of thousands of
protesters poured into one of Hong Kong's busiest shopping
districts on Sunday, braving a downpour to join an
anti-government rally in the eleventh week of what have been
often violent demonstrations in the Asian financial hub.
Sunday's heavy turnout indicated that the movement still has
broad-based support despite the ugly scenes witnessed during the
past week when protesters occupied the city's airport, for which
some activists apologised.
"It's bloody hot and it's raining. It's a torture just to
turn up, frankly. But we have to be here because we have no
other choice," said a 24-year-old student named Jonathan who was
at the rally in Victoria Park in the Causeway Bay district of
Hong Kong island.
"We have to continue until the government finally shows us
the respect that we deserve," he said.
Anger over a now-suspended bill that would allow criminal
suspects in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China erupted
in June, but the rising unrest has been fuelled by broader
worries about the erosion of freedoms guaranteed under the "one
country, two systems" formula put in place after Hong Kong's
return from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
Gathered in Victoria Park at the start of the rally,
protesters held aloft placards with slogans including "Free Hong
Kong!" and "Democracy now!", and umbrellas to shield them from
the rain. The crowd was peaceful and included the elderly, the
middle aged, young people and families, with some parents
carrying toddlers.
Despite rally organisers not having permission to march, the
park could not accommodate the crowd and many headed west
towards the city's financial centre, chanting for the city's
Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, to step down.
The crowd at the Central subway station, one of the city's
busiest, was at a near-standstill on Sunday afternoon as a sea
of people dressed in black T-shirts waited to board trains. The
group erupted in cheers and chanted "Revolution of our time!" in
Cantonese when an empty train finally arrived.
Aside from Lam's resignation, demonstrators are seeking
complete withdrawal of the extradition bill, a halt to
descriptions of the protests as 'rioting', a waiver of charges
against those arrested, an independent inquiry and resumption of
political reform.
"When we were young, we didn’t think about it. But my son
tells me: After 2047, what will happen to me?," said a history
teacher named Mrs. Poon, referring to the year when the 50-year
agreement enshrining Hong Kong's separate system will lapse.
"I will come again and again and again. We do not know how
any of this is going to end. We will still fight," she said.
'WE ARE HONG KONGERS'
Police have come under criticism for using increasingly
aggressive tactics to break up demonstrations, and on Sunday
some people handed out balloons resembling eyeballs, a reference
to the injury suffered by a female medic who was hospitalised
after being hit by a pellet round in the eye.
On Saturday, however, a demonstration in support of the
government attracted what organisers said was 476,000 people,
although police put the number of attendees at 108,000.
The anti-government protests present one of the biggest
challenges facing Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to
power in 2012. And with the ruling Communist Party preparing to
mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's
Republic on Oct 1, the crisis in Hong Kong has come at a
sensitive time.
Beijing has struck an increasingly strident tone over the
protests, accusing foreign countries including the United States
of fomenting unrest.
Scenes of Chinese paramilitary troops training at a stadium
in the city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, gave a clear
warning that mainland intervention by force is possible.
Last week, protesters who occupied the terminal at Hong
Kong's airport forced the cancellation of nearly 1,000 flights
and detained two men they thought were pro-government
sympathisers, prompting Beijing to liken the behaviour to
terrorism.
"We are Hong Kongers. We are here for our future. We feel
for the teenagers," said Frances Chan, 60, a retired journalist
attending Sunday's rally.
She said only a few protesters had used violence, sparingly,
and that it was brought on by pressure from authorities and
police.
"Actually, we want peace and freedom," she said. "If the
government would just listen to the five requests, things would
calm down."