Hong Kong, Human Rights March drowns out Hu Jintao appeals for harmony
Hong Kong
(AsiaNews) - Tens of thousands - perhaps hundreds of thousands - of people
demonstrated yesterday in the center of Hong Kong during the visit of Chinese
President Hu Jintao. The
huge flow of protesters were demanding more democracy for the region and
respect for human rights in the mainland.
Earlier that morning Hu Jintao was present at the oath of new chief
executive, Leung Chun-ying, whom he asked to overcome divisions and
grow "harmony and stability" in response to the "needs of the
population" and paying attention to "social tensions".
Hu
Jintao was visiting Hong Kong to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the return
of the territory to the motherland. The
main ceremony, with chosen guests, was held yesterday morning at the Hong Kong
Convention and Exhibition Centre. A
member of the Democratic Party, Ken Tsang Kin-chiu managed to stop the Chinese
president's speech, shouting loudly: "Justice for the Tiananmen massacre! An
end to the single party rule!". He
even managed to hang a banner before it took 10 guards and drag him out. He was released shortly afterwards.
In
the afternoon, with scorching heat, a march of tens of thousands of people -
400 thousand according to organizers, 60 thousand according to the police - wound
from Victoria Park to Central. It
took more than four hours for the procession to complete the circuit. The
reasons for the march are different: criticism on the mechanism for choosing
the chief executive (a large group of 1200 voters, led by Beijing); criticism
of Leung Chun-ying, the new chief executive, following discoveries in the illegal
construction
of his
house and because he is too pro-Beijing; criticism over the death of dissident
Li Wangyang, hero of Tiananmen, who apparently "committed suicide"
while in custody of Chinese police, criticism of the high price of housing,
which has brough many families in Hong Kong to their
knees.
In
the speech of the morning, Hu Jintao reiterated the policy of "One
Country, Two Systems", , which allows Hong Kong a higher standard of
living and more freedom than the homeland. But
in these 15 years, China's control over the Territory has increased in economic,
political and military terms. Many
activists have criticized the show of force two days ago, by Hu Jintao, who
marched in a parade with the garrison of the Liberation Army stationed in Hong
Kong.
Some
protestors have even tried to storm the fence around the hotel where Hu was
staying.
The
events of July 1 have become a tradition since 2003. That
year, the Government of Hong Kong, headed by Tung Chee-hwa, had prepared a law
(the Art. 23), which blocked many of the freedoms of association and speech. The
2003 event was attended by over half a million people. Tung Chee-hwa had to
cancel the law.
.png)
13/01/2010
19/04/2007
01/10/2004
