HONG KONG | Thousands march for democracy  in first rally since December

Thousands of pro-democracy activists take part in a democracy march to Central, demanding for universal suffrage in Hong Kong

Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators marched through Hong Kong’s streets yesterday in the first major rally since mass protests ended last year.
Chanting “No fake universal suffrage. I want genuine universal suffrage,” the demonstrators held yellow umbrellas, which became a symbol of the earlier protests when the activists wielded them as a defense against police using pepper spray.
The march appeared orderly and peaceful throughout the day. The annual event usually is held on Jan. 1 but was delayed for a month this year to coincide with the government’s consultations on electoral reform.
Police raised no objection to the march, though the formal notice the department issued last weekend stressed that organizers should ensure none of the marchers tried to occupy streets as happened during the mass protests.
The demonstrators oppose the Chinese government’s decision that candidates in the 2017 election for Hong Kong chief executive will be vetted by a largely Beijing-controlled nominating committee. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments refused to make any concessions and the final demonstrators were cleared by police from the last site in Causeway Bay on Dec. 15.
The final election plan must be approved by a two-thirds majority in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council before submitting to authorities in Beijing. But pro-democracy legislators, who hold 40 percent of the seats, have said they would veto the screening proposal.
“The Umbrella Movement started a new chapter for Hong Kong,” said Daisy Chan of Civil Human Rights Front, who organized the rally, referring to the name given to protesters last year after they used umbrellas to protect themselves against pepper spray. “We have one simple demand today: we don’t want fake democracy,” she said at the rally yesterday.
“This is pseudo universal suffrage, we do not have the rights to elect who we want,” said protester Julia Choi. AP/Bloomberg