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

NumberOneWorld · Joined: 28 Jun 2002 Posts: 85

chris... what were you protesting? the handling of SARS?

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MIKE BURN

People-Power!!!!! :me

MIKE

bbchris

Article 23 - see this thread where I've copied stuff from the Article 23 website. it's to do with sedition laws being rushed through here in HK cause the Government claims "HK people don't care" "HK People are naive" and crap like that....

Although some people took advantage of the protest; just showing they are DISSATISFIED with the Government.... SARS handling, Tung's leadership etc.

It was probably close to a million marching. We're waiting to see what numbers gets reported tomorrow.....

Thanks Mike! Yes!! PEACEFUL PEOPLE POWER! A lot of English people were commenting that in that sort of crowd in the UK, you would expect people to get aggressive and out-of-control but us Hong Kong people didn't. Not one case.

My bro called me and told me about a group of blind marchers who said "Even though we can't see, we still care about HK, that's why we're marching"

Seismic Anamoly · Joined: 22 Aug 2002 Posts: 3039

Very, Very Cool...You Go, Hong Kong!! :thumb

goodisonpark · Joined: 12 Jun 2003 Posts: 193

Yep, I kept updating Chris by phone about where the leaders of the march were, where police were, where traffic was, where blah blah blah blah blah ...... :ft

I'm proud of her and mum .. both walked for ages in immense heat. :sensational

Hopefully, for once, the HK Gov't will actually listen to the people of HK and stop brown-nosing the chumps in the Chinese Polit Bureau. :warrior

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

LarreeMP3 · Joined: 12 Apr 2002 Posts: 1935

Me too! HAHAHA!

Awesome pics of an awesome event!

Hats off to the people of HK!

:ww

droolymutt

Your leader is "non-elected"????

Well - that's about as wrong as wrong can get...!!

Power and Respect to you for fighting against anarchy.....

ahh.....

Sometimes I just wanna ignore all the injustice.... - it makes me so crazy angry.......

But if I ignore it, what would I be?

Power to you for fighting it....

I'm gonna keep fighting too.

Screw the naysayers.

bbchris

Wow! It took us 4 hours to walk from Causeway Bay to Government Offices - we couldn't get into the park and was constantly speaking to people IN the park (some of my friends spent FOUR hours stuck in the parK!!!) Amazing!

So peaceful and so nice. I was chanting and singing!! hahahahahahaa

Here's a short avi file if you want to see and hear a short 15 sec clip....

Where we started and got stuck in!!

In front of me:

Some GREAT banners today - here's another one:

I particularly liked this one....

Still walking down the same street in Causeway Bay....

Mum & I

Er - we're not quite sure what he's protesting....

The police were NOT prepared for so many people, they didn't plan to shut Hennessy Road - the buses down the side still had passengers - hahahahaha

Loads of people watching and cheering on from bridges

Just SO MANY PEOPLE (now in Wanchai)

GREAT POSTER!! hahahahaha That's Tung Chee Hwa - our great non-elected ruler with a cream pie in his face!

Not QUITE sure what this banner meant....

Why is Tung dressed up as a baby? not sure myself....

Coming into Central (the business district and where the Government offices are)

Looking back at Admiralty - phew! Still so many people...

I'm going up Battery Path to Government Offices and looking back at the people still coming...

MADE IT!! Got to the finish line!! Me standing outside Government Offices...

Edited by: bbchris at: 7/2/03 4:06 am

goodisonpark · Joined: 12 Jun 2003 Posts: 193

Nite Nite all!! :muede

MIKE BURN

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

bbchris

oooh I missed that Mike! THanks for posting that!

Did anyone watch the 15 sec video? Just curious.

Here's the write up from todays English newspaper scmp (which sucks up to China btw) I personally think there was at least 800,000 people there....

=============================================

500,000 take to the streets

Turnout piles the pressure on Tung administration

More than half a million Hong Kong people took to the streets yesterday in a landmark anti-government protest on the sixth anniversary of reunification with the mainland. The rare show of discontent is being seen as the biggest crisis yet for the Tung Chee-hwa administration.

Organisers last night claimed the turnout exceeded 500,000, a figure they said was well above expectations. The Civil Human Rights Front, which organised the protest, had hoped for 100,000 people.

Police said 350,000 had taken part in the protest before it peaked at 6pm, but conceded that this figure did not include all participants. The force said the protesters should be proud that hundreds of thousands of people finished the march within hours in a peaceful and orderly manner.

It was the biggest protest in Hong Kong since 1.2 million people hit the streets in support of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement in 1989.

Referring to the overwhelming response at the end of the seven-hour protest, front spokesman Lee Cheuk-yan said: "The figure is really no longer important. We have made history today. I think Mr Tung should seriously look at this."

The group demanded an immediate dialogue with Mr Tung and urged him to shelve the controversial national security legislation and speed up democratic development.

It threatened to mobilise the public to besiege the Legislative Council building on July 9, when the national security legislation is put to a vote. The bill is aimed at outlawing offences such as subversion, treason and succession.

Mr Tung said in a statement that he was "very concerned" about the mass protest and that he understood the people's aspirations. He said the government and the public shared the same position on the importance of rights and freedom.

"We shall continue to take active steps to maintain and safeguard rights and freedoms and develop democracy in a gradual and orderly manner according to the blueprint laid down in the Basic Law," he said.

He repeated that it was Hong Kong's constitutional duty to enact the legislation.

The chief executive said the government understood the public was experiencing hardship amid economic restructuring and was taking measures to ease unemployment. He pledged to strengthen communication with the public.

Mr Tung said he hoped the community would build on the spirit of solidarity developed in the fight against Sars and work together to relaunch Hong Kong and revitalise the economy.

Despite the massive turnout, the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong and the Liberal Party said they did not plan to back down on their support for the national security legislation.

The response was so overwhelming that tens of thousands of people were still pouring in to Victoria Park hours after the first batch arrived in Central at 4.15pm. The last batch of protesters arrived at Central Government Offices shortly after 9pm, six hours after protesters started leaving Victoria Park.

Brandishing anti-Tung placards and chanting slogans against the government, protesters, dressed mostly in black, braved scorching heat to vent their anger. They carried effigies of Mr Tung and Secretary for Security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee as they walked from Causeway Bay to Central.

Police were forced to open more thoroughfares for the protest as tens of thousands of people were still waiting to move out of the park late in the afternoon.

Premier Wen Jiabao, who left hours before the march began, told principal officials not to disappoint the public.

"Understanding, trust and support are most important in the current situation. You have a great mission ahead. You should not disappoint the Hong Kong public and the Chinese people," he said.

Asked why he did not stay to address the protesters' concerns, Mr Wen said: "My three-day mission is over. My job to bring warmth and hope to Hong Kong has finished. I have said what I have to say."

In his first direct comments on Article 23, Mr Wen said: "Article 23 will not affect Hong Kong people, including reporters, from enjoying their various rights and freedoms under the law."

Commenting on the march, Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping admitted that the government had to improve its responses to public sentiment. Dr Ho said: "Premier Wen has given me much insight personally. We still have a great deal to learn about how to get closer to the public."

City University political commentator Ivan Choy Chi-keung said the march had shown that Mr Tung was facing a governance crisis.

"Mr Tung should shelve the legislation indefinitely and remove Regina Ip to appease public outrage," he said.

debbie mannas · Joined: 30 Sep 2002 Posts: 1352

would be a damn good thing. Horrible woman.

:warrior

bbchris · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2003 2:27 am Post subject: Re: Removing Regina Ip

Regina Ip must be blonde underneath all that black Chinese hair...

debbie mannas · Joined: 30 Sep 2002 Posts: 1352

bbchris · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2003 2:43 am Post subject: Re: either that or an alien

That must be why this banner was made: hahahaha