Thousands gather in HK to protest against pro-democracy campaign

HONG KONG — Tens of thousands yesterday gathered in sweltering heat in Hong Kong to protest against a pro-democracy campaign that has threatened to shut down the city’s financial district, exposing a deepening rift over political reforms in the former British colony.

The rise in tit-for-tat street protests between pro-Beijing and pro-democracy groups underscores the challenges China faces in shaping its vision for the political future of Hong Kong.

Backed largely by Beijing-friendly groups, the Alliance for Peace and Democracy said it “desires peace and no violence” and has denounced the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement that has said it will lock down the centre of the city if Beijing does not allow truly democratic elections for a leader in 2017.

“We want to show that the march doesn’t have to be violent and angry. It can be happy,” said Mr Robert Chow, a former Hong Kong radio host and spokesman for the alliance.

However, the tactics used to mobilise supporters to participate in yesterday’s rally raised questions about whether demonstrators knew exactly why they were marching. Pro-establishment trade unions and professional groups, for example, urged members to join. People who recently moved to Hong Kong from mainland China were also offered cheap day tours of the city, with stops that included lunch, a museum visit and the anti-Occupy march, said local news reports.

The group said it had so far collected close to 1.5 million signatures, including that of Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying, saying the “illegal” Occupy campaign would tarnish Hong Kong’s reputation and hurt businesses. It was not possible to independently verify the number, which exceeded the almost 800,000 votes in Occupy Central’s unofficial poll on democracy in June. Yesterday’s rally was held to mark the end of the alliance’s month-long campaign for signatures.

Debate has raged over the format of the election for Hong Kong’s next leader in 2017. Pro-democracy groups have called on Beijing to allow open nominations rather than allowing only “patriotic” pro-Beijing candidates to stand.

Beijing has allowed Hong Kong — which returned in 1997 to Chinese rule — to go ahead with a popular vote in 2017, the most far-reaching experiment in democracy in communist China.

After annual protests last month marking the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China, hundreds of police officers started removing protesters from the heart of the territory’s business district as they tried to stage a sit-in after a rally to demand greater democracy.

The anti-Occupy campaign, which attracted about 1,500 people in temperatures as high as 30°C, kicked off early yesterday with a run through the centre of the city, organisers said. The University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Programme estimated that the turnout for the entire event was as much as 88,000, while the police said 110,600 people took part in the rally at its peak.

“Occupy Central is an extreme way of protest,” said Mr Terence Chung, a company manager who joined the march. “Using legal ways to express opinions is all right. If it comes to an irrational protest, social order will be disrupted.”

“We do not support Occupy Central because it will bring trouble and instability to the city,” said retiree Law Kwai-wing, 77, who added that he had travelled across the border from China’s Guangdong province as part of a bus tour organised by the pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions. The group planned to stay for less than an hour before returning across the border for lunch, for which tour members would pay themselves, Mr Law said.

Occupy Central has said its movement is peaceful, demanding a “genuine choice” for Hong Kong’s five million eligible voters. AGENCIES