Posted on 07/01/2003 9:02:59 AM PDT by tallhappy
Reuter's Article:
Thousands of protesters jam the roads as they march through Causeway Bay shopping district to demonstrate against a tough anti-subversion law in Hong Kong, July 1, 2003, the day marking the sixth anniversary of the territory's handover to Chinese rule. Brandishing banners, umbrellas and fans, tens of thousands of demonstrators on Tuesday denounced the Hong Kong government's planned anti-subversion law and demanded the right to elect their own leaders. REUTERS/Kin Cheung
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to Hong Kong's streets on Tuesday to denounce the government and its planned anti-subversion law in the city's biggest demonstration since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
"Return rule to the people," they chanted as the rally began to denounce the bill which critics say will impose Beijing-style control over free speech and the media.
Brandishing banners, umbrellas and fans, many wore black on a sweltering day to mourn what they said was the demise of rights and freedoms in one of the world's key financial centers.
Critics say the law, which Beijing has been pressing Hong Kong to enact, poses the biggest threat to basic rights in the former British colony since it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.
Earlier, a group of protesters burned the Communist Party flag as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao tried to reassure the territory that its freedoms would be protected. But the afternoon march was peaceful.
By nightfall, organizers said around 500,000 people had turned out, while police said they counted at least 350,000 people as of 6 p.m. (1000 GMT). It was the largest protest in Hong Kong since 1989, when a million turned out after troops killed hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators in the Chinese capital.
The government has said it would not back down on the national security legislation regardless of Tuesday's turnout. Despite renewed criticism from the United States and Britain, the bill is bound to be passed by the territory's legislature, which is packed with pro-Beijing and pro-government supporters.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, who was mocked on many of the placards, issued a statement saying it was the government's responsibility to pass the security law as required by the Basic Law, its mini-constitution.
"The government has promised the rights and freedom enjoyed in Hong Kong now won't be affected by the legislation," he said.
The anti-subversion measures, to be enshrined as Article 23 of the Basic Law, were the prime target of many of the protesters. But others said they were frustrated by the government's handling of the ailing economy and the SARS epidemic, which killed some 300 people in the territory.
Marchers came from all walks of life with retirees and young couples pushing baby strollers walking alongside veteran democracy supporters, highlighting the depth of dissatisfaction with the government. Many were demonstrating for the first time.
PUBLIC ANGER
Political commentator Andy Ho said he was not surprised by the extent of public anger.
"Those who have come out are from all walks of life, and are not only opposed to Article 23 but a host of government policies," Ho told Reuters.
"This should serve as a wake-up call for the government. If it does not heed people's views, grievances will deepen and it will make it more difficult for it to rule Hong Kong."
The flag-burning took place a few hundred meters (yards) from the convention center where Wen and local leaders were celebrating the sixth anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China.
In what are believed to be the first public comments by a senior Chinese leader on the controversial issue, Wen repeatedly assured Hong Kong that its special status would be protected.
"The legislation according to Article 23 will not affect the different rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong people, including journalists, under the law," Wen told reporters.
He did not refer to Tuesday's marchers directly, but said stability was the key to the territory's long-term prosperity.
Though Hong Kong was promised a high degree of autonomy after the handover, critics say there has been a subtle roll-back of freedoms, especially as it grows more economically dependent on the mainland.
The government's push to pass the law this month has stoked concerns that any dissent may soon be treated the same way it is in China. Beijing fears that without the law, Hong Kong will be used as a base for subversive activities against it.
The Falun Gong spiritual group for instance practices freely in Hong Kong but has been banned in China as an "evil cult."
Under the legislation, people can be jailed for life if convicted of subversion, treason or secession from China. It also allows gives police sweeping search powers without court orders.
But the government's much-criticized handling of the bill and many other issues may have set the stage for a bigger battle.
Its refusal to allow more consultation and widespread anger at Tung have spurred calls for more democracy and may have galvanized generations into becoming more politically active.
Large number of people gathered on the left side of Hong Kong's Victoria Park on Tuesday, July 1, 2003, to protest a planned anti-subversion bill. The near empty pitches on the left were reserved by a pro-Beijing organization for a carnival to counter the anti-government protest. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
From Cybercast News (CNS)
Fearing Beijing-Style Repression, Hong Kong Residents Protest
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
July 01, 2003
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents Tuesday marked the sixth anniversary of the territory's return to China by expressing their anger at moves they fear will erode the freedoms Beijing undertook to safeguard.
In what may be the largest public protest in the territory in more than a decade, residents have taken to the streets to demonstrate their feelings on a range of issues, including calls for greater democratization.
One local television report said while it was difficult to estimate the size of the huge crowd, it looked set to exceed the 100,000 mark predicted by protest organizers.
In a week's time, Hong Kong's administrators are due to pass controversial legislation that will outlaw groups that are banned on the communist mainland and clamp down on information regarded as state secrets.
Under Article 23 of its mini-constitution, the Basic Law, Hong Kong's government is obliged to pass a security law at some unspecified time, and it has been under pressure from Beijing to speed up the move.
The proposal aims to act against "treason, secession, sedition [and] subversion" against China, and it carries life imprisonment for some offenses.
A wide range of critics - including the U.S. and British governments, media groups, human rights campaigners, religious activists and bankers - are concerned the proposed legislation will stifle free speech and jeopardize Hong Kong's special status.
The former British colony reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years.
While the communist government in Beijing is responsible for its foreign affairs and defense, Hong Kong was otherwise to be run by its own government, which since 1997 has been headed by chief executive Tung Chee-hwa.
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, on his first official visit to the territory, pledged Sunday that Beijing would keep to the "one country, two systems" commitment.
Contradicting that assertion, however, a statement released by the British government declared that part of the proposed security legislation was inconsistent with "one country, two systems."
British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell cited a provision allowing for the proscription of Hong Kong-based groups that are subordinate to organizations which have been banned on the mainland.
Britain has a particularly strong interest in the matter, as it was the Joint Declaration signed by London and Beijing in 1984 that explicitly guaranteed the continuation of Hong Kong's freedoms for at least 50 years beyond the handover.
Washington and the European Union this week voiced serious concerns about the law.
A Hong Kong government spokesman said in response to the criticisms that the proposals were in line with international standards and "will not undermine fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents."
'City's survival at stake'
Tuesday's anti-Article 23 rally was being supported by a wide range of groups, including pro-democracy, religious and media organizations.
The outspoken head of Hong Kong's Catholic Church, Bishop Joseph Zen, said the protests may be a last chance for people to express their views.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association said it was participating because the proposed law makes it a crime to possess information that could reasonably be assumed to have been obtained from the state by theft, bribery or computer hacking.
The association said the legislation should make provision for "public interest" and "prior publication" defenses.
Politicians were marching, too. One of them, lawmaker Margaret Ng, said earlier she was doing so for the sake of the territory's future.
"Hong Kong is an international city," she said. "It matters to our survival that we keep outward-looking, comply with international standards and maintain international confidence. Fighting for the freedom of expression is fighting for the life of this city."
Organizers believe the government has misread the strength of popular opposition to the law.
The organizing coalition, the Civil Human Rights Front, was unimpressed with Secretary for Security (police minister) Regina Ip for suggesting ahead of the protest that, Tuesday being a holiday in Hong Kong , "we should not think that many people taking to the street will necessarily mean that they are against Article 23."
In a University of Hong Kong opinion poll released Monday, 55 percent of respondents opposed the implementation of Article 23 in principle, 16 percent said they supported it, and 12 percent said they felt "half-half" about it.
Deeper concerns
Many of those marching Tuesday have wider grievances, too.
The opposition Democratic Party has staged a 100-hour hunger strike against Article 23, but its statements on the protest outlined a broader political agenda.
"The Democratic Party strongly opposes the Tung administration, and strives for a democratically elected chief executive and a fully democratically elected legislature," it said.
Chief executive Tung, who began a second five-year term a year ago, was not democratically elected, but chosen by a 800-member electoral college appointed by Beijing.
His government's approval ratings have dropped in recent months.
Many residents are also feeling the strain of an economic slump exacerbated by the SARS crisis.
After mainland China, Hong Kong was the area worst affected by the flu-like virus outbreak, which over a three-month period killed just short of 300 people in the territory.
Unhappiness with the government's initial handling of the health crisis, as well as its failure to revive the economy, has been prevalent.
In another HKU poll published this week, almost half of the respondents (48 percent) said they were dissatisfied with current political conditions - up from 14 points in March to a new record high. Nineteen percent said they were satisfied, down from 28 points in March.
The director of the university's public opinion program, Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, said the surge in dissatisfaction over political issues was noteworthy.
"Although people are still most concerned with economic problems, their prolonged dissatisfaction in the economic area has begun to turn into political demands."
The Standard, a Hong Kong business newspaper, said in an editorial that Tuesday's rally was more than a protest against the security law.
It was rather, it said, "an expression of the people's anger at an administration that has failed them."
Anti 23 - Article 23 the subversion law.
It is time to do away with the Chinese Communists.
Now that the economy inside China is taking off, the Chinese government has less use for Hong Kong's special status, where many internal dissenters escape to.
Predictable.
Yes, that seems accurate.
Maybe the admin can change the title to 500,000 or half a million.
Beijing's Communist regime is a paper tiger - the Chinese people could shed the Party in a day!
With Hong Kong's example in mind, they very well might.
For a moment, I wondered if they'd really said that...I wouldn't put it past them!
BTW..the general consensus seems to be developing that HK's standing as an economic force is slowly eroding....because of fers what the gov't might do someday...
Note the big poster of Sun Yat-sen who was the George Washington of China's original revolution of 1911 where the Republic of China was established and the Republic of China flags (now referred to as the "Taiwan flag").
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