WE MARCHED! PIC-heavy thread. Brilliant! Plus Newspaper

[goodisonpark]

Hong Kong marches to defend its freedoms

By Richard Spencer

(Filed: 02/07/2003)





Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Hong Kong yesterday to protest against new anti-subversion laws in the biggest display of discontent anywhere in China since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.





Pro-democracy demonstrators burn a Communist Party flag

Six years after Britain returned the territory to China, a mass gathering of the former colony's middle classes and professionals called on the government to drop the proposals which many say mark the "real handover", and quit.



The scale of the the march far outdid expectations, and overshadowed the formal celebrations of the anniversary at which the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, was guest of honour.



In a rare intervention by a member of China's leadership, Mr Wen insisted beforehand that the legislation "absolutely will not affect the different rights and freedoms that Hong Kong people enjoy under the law".



As he spoke, a handful of protesters demanding the release of political prisoners and an end to one-party rule burned the Chinese flag. They were kept away from Mr Wen, who was hustled back to the mainland border before the main demonstration began.



The Hong Kong government is determined to press ahead with a vote on the legislation, despite the huge opposition. It says it is obliged to update laws banning treason, subversion, sedition and secession under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the constitution agreed at the handover.



Critics say the government has gone further than it needed to, and that there are few common law systems in which the checks and balances of power have been replaced by ultimate loyalty to a Communist dictatorship.



There is particular concern about clauses which allow the government to ban groups judged by Beijing to be a threat to national security, and which make it an offence to reveal state secrets - a broad category in China.



The government is almost bound to get its way, as the legislative council has an inbuilt pro-Beijing majority. But it may be shocked by the size of yesterday's protest.



Police estimated 350,000, but organisers said as many as 500,000 people took to the narrow streets beneath the city's skyscrapers, far more than the 100,000 predicted.



Many marchers dressed largely in black as a sign of mourning for Hong Kong's "lost freedoms". Some held up posters showing Tung Chee-hwa, the chief executive, splattered with a custard pie.



Their anger was not just over Article 23, but also over the decline of Hong Kong since 1997. The downturn in the economy and the collapse of the property market have hit the middle classes particularly hard. The protesters were dismissed in advance by Regina Ip, the Beijing-backed security secretary, who is pushing through the law and who says she will not turn back.



One marcher, Kennis Lee, 30, said: "We know the government will go on because they don't listen. We are here because perhaps this is the last time we can say what we want. There will be no more chances."



Another, Peter Lam, 42, said it was not that they missed British rule. "It is just that we were hoping China's promise of one country, two systems, would be kept. We were willing to trust them but, six years on, we have been disappointed."

The world is your oyster but the future's a clam

[Seismic Anamoly]

Quote:

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Wen Jiabao and Tung won't be excited I guess, that some protestors burned the Chinese flag...

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You reckon, Mike??



I watched the Video, Chris...EXCELLENT!! Man, that's a Mass of Humanity...



...the speaker must have said "free tickets to this weekend's THINKING OUT LOUD gig for everybody" at the end when they all clapped....

[NumberOneWorld]

it's interesting on how each governemnt attempts to achieve the same "ulitmate power " of authority... with varying arguements and devices...



here in canada for instance, they enacted a "gun registration" bill which demanded everyone register their firearms... though the country disliked the idea and considered it another tax grab, the gov arguement was that it wouldn't affect anyone who had nothin gto hide anyway... yet, just below the surface was a paragraph in the law thast gave police the authorization to search anywhere at anytime, if they felt their could be unregistered firearms... and in the same breath, implied that other crimal acts detected within the search, would be prosectuted without bias of intent... which of course means, a cop can come to my door.. pretend he thinks there are firearms in my house, searches it... finds my magic mushrooms and busts me for pocession of a controlled substance... well isn't that handy!

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[ED1G]

Sorry I missed this one Chris!!...... Great pics and a cool AVI





Paul

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[bbchris]

Seismic! You watched the video!! Awesome!! Thanks! hahahahaha I could use it as future TOL promo!! hahahaha



MB - so you have a similiar law enacted? Wow! I'm amazed.....



Paul! Thanks for viewing the video too!! hahahaha

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