Hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters rallied peacefully in Hong Kong on Sunday, filling major thoroughfares in sometimes torrential rain in the eleventh week of what have been often violent demonstrations in the Asian financial hub.
Sunday’s turnout showed that the movement still has broad-based support despite the ugly scenes witnessed during the past week when protesters occupied the Chinese-ruled city’s airport, a move for which some activists apologised.
It was the calmest weekend protest since the latest demonstrations against perceived creeping Beijing influence in the former British colony began.
“They’ve been telling everyone we’re rioters. The march today is to show everyone we are not,” said a 23-year-old named Chris, who works in marketing and was dressed all in black, including a scarf covering his face and baseball cap.
“It does not mean we won’t keep fighting. We will do whatever is necessary to win, but today we take a break, then we reassess.”
One protester shouted at others who were jeering at by police: “Today is a peaceful march! Don’t fall into the trap! The world is watching us.” The call prompted the group to move on.
Late in the evening, some demonstrators were urging others to go home and take rest.
Protesters held aloft placards with slogans including “Free Hong Kong!” and “Democracy now!” and umbrellas to shield them from the sometimes heavy rain.
Some aimed green lasers at police and government buildings. The crowd in Victoria Park, where the rally started, included elderly people and young families, with some parents carrying toddlers.
Despite rally organisers not having permission to march, the park could not accommodate the crowd, which thronged nearby streets. Many protesters headed towards the city’s financial centre, chanting for Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, to step down.
It was impossible to put an exact figure on the number of protesters. The organisers put the number at 1.7 million. The police estimated there were 128,000 in Victoria Park at the height of the protest
“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. “We have to continue until the government finally shows us the respect that we deserve,” he added.
A government spokesman said the protests were generally peaceful, but they had disrupted traffic badly.
“The most important thing at present is to restore social order as soon as possible,” he said. “When everything is calm, the government will engage in a sincere dialogue with the public to fix the social rifts and rebuild social harmony.”
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.
