CHINA-HONG KONG/ CENTRAL RALLY Protesters hold massive rally in bid to maintain protest momentum

Record ID: 214780

  • Title: CHINA-HONG KONG/ CENTRAL RALLY Protesters hold massive rally in bid to maintain protest momentum
  • Date: 4th October 2014
  • Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (OCTOBER 4, 2014) (REUTERS) THOUSANDS AT RALLY
  • Embargoed: 19th October 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9HQGT1OVTCPGFK2UW5D12EJ58
  • Story Text: Thousands of protesters spent Saturday night (October 4) in Hong Kong's central business district, chanting and singing rock songs as their pro-democracy demonstration continued.
    Speakers ranging from lawyers and activists to celebrities such as local Hong Kong singers Anthony Wong and Denise Ho made appearances before the protesters.
    Away from the sporadic violence which has flared between opposing sides in the district of Mong Kok, the business district demonstration appeared peaceful, if noisy.
    Student activists, established protest groups and ordinary Hong Kongers have joined forces to present Beijing with one of its biggest political challenges since it violently crushed pro-democracy protests in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.
    "Hong Kong people, we have always grown up in fear of the (Beijing) Central Government. But the greater the suppression, the more we fight back, so we will continue to persist, won't we? What we are choosing is to persist in pursuing our ideals," Scholarism co-founder, Joshua Wong, told crowds at the rally.
    Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai said that protesters would continue to occupy the central district despite a warning by the city's pro-Beijing leader Leung Chun-ying that roads to government offices would be cleared by Monday (October 6).
    "We must, we must, state it very clearly to the whole world--this is not a colour revolution. This is only a movement about Hong Kong people to strive for democracy to get their rights, equal rights, which should be enjoyed by the Hong Kong people," said Tai.
    Tens of thousands of protesters have staged sit-ins across Hong Kong over the past week, demanding Leung step down and China reverse a decision made in August to handpick the candidates for Hong Kong's 2017 leadership election.
    The protests brought much of Hong Kong to a standstill during what is traditionally a busy week-long shopping holiday. Many residents now want the protests to end or to move elsewhere so that workers, schools and civil servants can return to normal.
    But the protesters gave no indication they would move to another location. Instead they said they wanted to keep up the momentum until their demands are answered and democracy, as they see it, is preserved.
    "Yeah, I feel it's awesome because we are Hong Kong people so we need to stand out to support the others, to make this democracy eventually come true," said 20 year-old bank teller and protester Viki Chan.
    "Because I'm here to support the students. They have so much for less, and you can see that the government has been using so much violence to stop what we are doing now. But what we are doing is actually true. I think it is doing something for democracy in Hong Kong," said recent university graduate Coco.
    China's ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily said in a front page editorial on Saturday, the Hong Kong protest referred to as the 'colour revolution' was just a pipe dream.
    The editorial read: "For the minority of people who want to foment a 'colour revolution' on the mainland by way of Hong Kong, this is but a daydream" .
    Facing separatist unrest in far-flung and resource-rich Tibet and Xinjiang, Beijing is standing firm on Hong Kong, fearful that calls for democracy there could spread to the mainland.
    After police fired tear gas against mostly student protesters last weekend, the demonstrations have been largely peaceful.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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