HONG KONG: Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong hours after Chinese President Hu Jintao swore in the city's new leader and urged him to resolve what he called "deep disagreements" among the islanders.
The by-now annual July 1 demonstration - marking the end of British colonial rule in 1997 - was the biggest in years as people took advantage of Hong Kong's laws that make it the only place in China where public protests are permitted.
Hundreds of police maintained a tight cordon around the same harbour front where Britain handed Hong Kong back to Chinese rule 15 years ago as Hu swore in the new leader - something that also always happens on July 1.
Hu expressed China's confidence in Hong Kong's role as a free, law-abiding society, though, in a sign of Beijing's anxiety over recent tensions, he appealed for unity and called on the new administration to pursue social harmony.
"While we recognize Hong Kong's achievements 15 years after the handover, we must also be conscious of the deep disagreements and problems in Hong Kong society," Hu said.
His call comes amid concerns in Hong Kong over human rights abuses on the mainland, sky-high property prices and the huge numbers of mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong.
A lone protester stood and heckled Hu as he spoke, demanding an end to one-party rule and dictatorship in China, before being wrestled away by around 10 security personnel.
Several demonstrators were taken away in a police van. A truck draped with black slogans denouncing the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 was forced away and tailed by a police motorcycle.
"Hong Kong has freedoms, and we have the right to protest! Why do you even stop us from walking?" lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan shouted into a loud hailer as he harangued police.
Hong Kong is a liberal, global financial hub agitating for full democracy, making it both an asset and a potentially dangerous precedent for China where people are becoming increasingly intolerant of rights abuses and curtailed freedoms.
MANDARIN SPEECH
New Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying, known to have close ties to China's Communist Party, delivered his inaugural speech in Mandarin, not the local dialect Cantonese.
After the morning swearing-in ceremony, demonstration organisers put the number of protesters at 400,000, while police said the figure was 65,000. Hong Kong University said up to 112,000 took part.
"Hong Kong's human rights record has backtracked," said one of the demonstrators, Theresa Cheng, a 20 year-old university student. "Freedom of speech is shrinking and reporters are facing more obstacles."
Other issues stoking citizen anger include a construction scandal that has badly hit Leung's popularity, a yawning wealth gap, corruption and pollution - though Sunday's events were held under a sunny blue sky.
Praised as one of the world's freest and simplest low-tax havens for conducting business and a gateway to China, Hong Kong has nevertheless struggled over the past 15 years, with critics accusing Beijing of extensive behind-the- scenes meddling in political, electoral, academic, media and legal spheres.
This year saw a fraught, mud-slinging electoral race for the city's top job that was eventually won by Leung, 57, a self-made millionaire who has championed grassroots causes such as poverty alleviation and building more public housing.
He now faces a damaging scandal over illegal constructions in a luxury villa. A similar infraction had earlier torpedoed the chances of his election rival, tycoon Henry Tang.
MINI HONG KONG
China proffered a raft of economic goodies to Hong Kong to coincide with Hu's visit, including saying it would experiment with service sector reforms in a new business zone next door in Shenzhen's Qianhai as a "mini Hong Kong" to consolidate Hong Kong's economic prospects.
Beijing often uses visits by leaders to announce sweeteners for Hong Kong.
But public "negative" feelings towards the Chinese government are at a record high, according to a University of Hong Kong poll.
The gulf in freedoms between Hong Kong and China remains stark since the territory returned to Chinese rule, with some residents taken aback by images of Hu attending a military parade at a Hong Kong People's Liberation Army barracks on Friday as thousands of soldiers, assembled before tanks and defence hardware, hailed their leader.
During a visit to a cruise terminal construction site built on Hong Kong's old Kai Tak airport runway, Hu was asked by a reporter to explain the Tiananmen Square killings.
"I hoped to ask him questions that Hong Kong people really want to ask," said Rex Hon, the reporter, who was interrogated by Hong Kong police officers for 15 minutes after his unscripted outburst. Hu, wearing a hard hat, ignored the question.
Mainland authorities censored parts of CNN's broadcasts in China on the protests during Hu's visit that demanded a probe into the suspicious death in custody of dissident Li Wangyang, whose relatives accused officials in Hunan of murder.
Thousands protest Hong Kong's China-fication
Hong Kong (CNN) -- Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded Hong Kong's streets Sunday, shortly after the city's new chief executive was sworn in during a ceremony with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty.
Despite the humid weather, organizers reported that 400,000 protesters turned out for the annual July 1 protest against what they say is the ever-encroaching hand of the Chinese central government in the city's affairs and freedoms.
It was the largest turnout since the estimated 500,000 protesters who marked the same date in 2003. Police put the figure at a much lower 63,000 people.
The march capped a weekend of opposition to the appointment of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying — also known as C.Y. Leung -- who was voted in by an electoral college of 1,200 influential figures in Hong Kong with Beijing's approval, as well as the suspicious death of Tiananmen dissident Li Wangyang. These recent flashpoints topped the list of ongoing grievances about the lack of universal suffrage, soaring housing prices, worsening pollution and a growing wealth gap.
Looking back: Britain hands over Hong Kong
Hong Kong 15 years later Open Mic: Hong Kong's identity China and Hong Kong: Who needs whom?
Amid megaphone-led chants for Leung to "step down" and myriad banners and costumes mocking Leung as a cunning "wolf," some protesters waved the former Hong Kong flag used under British rule -- a gesture used to symbolize the erosion of the city's freedoms following the 1997 handover.
Other protesters used images of the Hello Kitty cartoon to mock Leung's claim that Hello Kitty stickers in his home showed that previous tenants were responsible for his home's illegal — and highly controversial -- building structures, which came to light last week. Draping a Hello Kitty sash across his chest, Hong Kong artist Kacey Wong steered an all-pink army tank labeled as the "cultural bureau," mocking Leung's proposed new government department.
See photos of the July 1 march
Significantly, Leung's swearing-in ceremony on Sunday was fully conducted in Mandarin rather than the local Cantonese language, a move that did not go unnoticed by citizens sensitive about the encroachment of China's national language in Hong Kong.
"How completely alienating. If we have to watch a leader we didn't elect get sworn in, we could at least have it conducted in our own language," tweeted user @supercharz, Charmaine Mok.
Leung ignored reporters' requests for comment about the protests as he exited the ceremony.
The carefully orchestrated ceremony was interrupted during Hu's remarks by a heckler who shouted slogans calling for a redressing of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the establishment of a democratic Chinese nation before he was bundled out by security.
The ceremony capped Hu's three-day visit to Hong Kong. Hu left the city before the July 1 march commenced at 3 p.m. local time.
However, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Hu's hotel on Saturday, where they were enclosed within unusually high barricades that towered more than 2 meters high, which had not been used in Hong Kong since World Trade Organization protests in 2005. Several protesters and journalists were pepper-sprayed in the scuffle.
During Hu's tour at the Kai Tak cruise terminal the same day, an Apple Daily reporter who yelled out a question about the Tiananmen Square massacre was removed by police from the press area and questioned under a stairwell.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong protests went unmentioned in the extensive coverage of the handover anniversary presented by Chinese state-run television station CCTV and news agency Xinhua. CNN's television broadcasts about the handover anniversary in Hong Kong were blacked out in mainland China on Sunday and Monday, while BBC World's coverage was also censored after it veered from Leung's inauguration remarks to mentioning concurrent protests.
A photo circulating widely online Sunday picturing fireworks exploding in Victoria Harbor over the heads of protesters captured the divide between the government's representation of the sentiment surrounding the handover anniversary and the discontent brewing amid many citizens.
In a statement addressing the July 1 march, the Hong Kong government said it "fully respected people's rights to take part in processions and their freedom of expression and would listen to their views in a humble manner."
It went on to say that the government will "uphold the core values of Hong Kong and protect the freedom and rights of the people."
Thousands protest Hong Kong's China-fication - CNN.com
The by-now annual July 1 demonstration - marking the end of British colonial rule in 1997 - was the biggest in years as people took advantage of Hong Kong's laws that make it the only place in China where public protests are permitted.
Hundreds of police maintained a tight cordon around the same harbour front where Britain handed Hong Kong back to Chinese rule 15 years ago as Hu swore in the new leader - something that also always happens on July 1.
Hu expressed China's confidence in Hong Kong's role as a free, law-abiding society, though, in a sign of Beijing's anxiety over recent tensions, he appealed for unity and called on the new administration to pursue social harmony.
"While we recognize Hong Kong's achievements 15 years after the handover, we must also be conscious of the deep disagreements and problems in Hong Kong society," Hu said.
His call comes amid concerns in Hong Kong over human rights abuses on the mainland, sky-high property prices and the huge numbers of mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong.
A lone protester stood and heckled Hu as he spoke, demanding an end to one-party rule and dictatorship in China, before being wrestled away by around 10 security personnel.
Several demonstrators were taken away in a police van. A truck draped with black slogans denouncing the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 was forced away and tailed by a police motorcycle.
"Hong Kong has freedoms, and we have the right to protest! Why do you even stop us from walking?" lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan shouted into a loud hailer as he harangued police.
Hong Kong is a liberal, global financial hub agitating for full democracy, making it both an asset and a potentially dangerous precedent for China where people are becoming increasingly intolerant of rights abuses and curtailed freedoms.
MANDARIN SPEECH
New Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying, known to have close ties to China's Communist Party, delivered his inaugural speech in Mandarin, not the local dialect Cantonese.
After the morning swearing-in ceremony, demonstration organisers put the number of protesters at 400,000, while police said the figure was 65,000. Hong Kong University said up to 112,000 took part.
"Hong Kong's human rights record has backtracked," said one of the demonstrators, Theresa Cheng, a 20 year-old university student. "Freedom of speech is shrinking and reporters are facing more obstacles."
Other issues stoking citizen anger include a construction scandal that has badly hit Leung's popularity, a yawning wealth gap, corruption and pollution - though Sunday's events were held under a sunny blue sky.
Praised as one of the world's freest and simplest low-tax havens for conducting business and a gateway to China, Hong Kong has nevertheless struggled over the past 15 years, with critics accusing Beijing of extensive behind-the- scenes meddling in political, electoral, academic, media and legal spheres.
This year saw a fraught, mud-slinging electoral race for the city's top job that was eventually won by Leung, 57, a self-made millionaire who has championed grassroots causes such as poverty alleviation and building more public housing.
He now faces a damaging scandal over illegal constructions in a luxury villa. A similar infraction had earlier torpedoed the chances of his election rival, tycoon Henry Tang.
MINI HONG KONG
China proffered a raft of economic goodies to Hong Kong to coincide with Hu's visit, including saying it would experiment with service sector reforms in a new business zone next door in Shenzhen's Qianhai as a "mini Hong Kong" to consolidate Hong Kong's economic prospects.
Beijing often uses visits by leaders to announce sweeteners for Hong Kong.
But public "negative" feelings towards the Chinese government are at a record high, according to a University of Hong Kong poll.
The gulf in freedoms between Hong Kong and China remains stark since the territory returned to Chinese rule, with some residents taken aback by images of Hu attending a military parade at a Hong Kong People's Liberation Army barracks on Friday as thousands of soldiers, assembled before tanks and defence hardware, hailed their leader.
During a visit to a cruise terminal construction site built on Hong Kong's old Kai Tak airport runway, Hu was asked by a reporter to explain the Tiananmen Square killings.
"I hoped to ask him questions that Hong Kong people really want to ask," said Rex Hon, the reporter, who was interrogated by Hong Kong police officers for 15 minutes after his unscripted outburst. Hu, wearing a hard hat, ignored the question.
Mainland authorities censored parts of CNN's broadcasts in China on the protests during Hu's visit that demanded a probe into the suspicious death in custody of dissident Li Wangyang, whose relatives accused officials in Hunan of murder.
Thousands protest Hong Kong's China-fication
Hong Kong (CNN) -- Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded Hong Kong's streets Sunday, shortly after the city's new chief executive was sworn in during a ceremony with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty.
Despite the humid weather, organizers reported that 400,000 protesters turned out for the annual July 1 protest against what they say is the ever-encroaching hand of the Chinese central government in the city's affairs and freedoms.
It was the largest turnout since the estimated 500,000 protesters who marked the same date in 2003. Police put the figure at a much lower 63,000 people.
The march capped a weekend of opposition to the appointment of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying — also known as C.Y. Leung -- who was voted in by an electoral college of 1,200 influential figures in Hong Kong with Beijing's approval, as well as the suspicious death of Tiananmen dissident Li Wangyang. These recent flashpoints topped the list of ongoing grievances about the lack of universal suffrage, soaring housing prices, worsening pollution and a growing wealth gap.
Looking back: Britain hands over Hong Kong
Hong Kong 15 years later Open Mic: Hong Kong's identity China and Hong Kong: Who needs whom?
Amid megaphone-led chants for Leung to "step down" and myriad banners and costumes mocking Leung as a cunning "wolf," some protesters waved the former Hong Kong flag used under British rule -- a gesture used to symbolize the erosion of the city's freedoms following the 1997 handover.
Other protesters used images of the Hello Kitty cartoon to mock Leung's claim that Hello Kitty stickers in his home showed that previous tenants were responsible for his home's illegal — and highly controversial -- building structures, which came to light last week. Draping a Hello Kitty sash across his chest, Hong Kong artist Kacey Wong steered an all-pink army tank labeled as the "cultural bureau," mocking Leung's proposed new government department.
See photos of the July 1 march
Significantly, Leung's swearing-in ceremony on Sunday was fully conducted in Mandarin rather than the local Cantonese language, a move that did not go unnoticed by citizens sensitive about the encroachment of China's national language in Hong Kong.
"How completely alienating. If we have to watch a leader we didn't elect get sworn in, we could at least have it conducted in our own language," tweeted user @supercharz, Charmaine Mok.
Leung ignored reporters' requests for comment about the protests as he exited the ceremony.
The carefully orchestrated ceremony was interrupted during Hu's remarks by a heckler who shouted slogans calling for a redressing of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the establishment of a democratic Chinese nation before he was bundled out by security.
The ceremony capped Hu's three-day visit to Hong Kong. Hu left the city before the July 1 march commenced at 3 p.m. local time.
However, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Hu's hotel on Saturday, where they were enclosed within unusually high barricades that towered more than 2 meters high, which had not been used in Hong Kong since World Trade Organization protests in 2005. Several protesters and journalists were pepper-sprayed in the scuffle.
During Hu's tour at the Kai Tak cruise terminal the same day, an Apple Daily reporter who yelled out a question about the Tiananmen Square massacre was removed by police from the press area and questioned under a stairwell.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong protests went unmentioned in the extensive coverage of the handover anniversary presented by Chinese state-run television station CCTV and news agency Xinhua. CNN's television broadcasts about the handover anniversary in Hong Kong were blacked out in mainland China on Sunday and Monday, while BBC World's coverage was also censored after it veered from Leung's inauguration remarks to mentioning concurrent protests.
A photo circulating widely online Sunday picturing fireworks exploding in Victoria Harbor over the heads of protesters captured the divide between the government's representation of the sentiment surrounding the handover anniversary and the discontent brewing amid many citizens.
In a statement addressing the July 1 march, the Hong Kong government said it "fully respected people's rights to take part in processions and their freedom of expression and would listen to their views in a humble manner."
It went on to say that the government will "uphold the core values of Hong Kong and protect the freedom and rights of the people."
Thousands protest Hong Kong's China-fication - CNN.com
