The march, annual fixture over past few years on China’s October 1 National Day, comes at a time of nascent disillusionment with Hong Kong’s once vaunted judiciary
Tens of thousands marched in China-ruled Hong Kong on Sunday in an « anti authoritarian rule » march that called for the resignation of the city’s top legal official over the recent jailing of young democracy activists.
The march, an annual fixture over the past few years on China’s October 1 National Day, comes at a time of nascent disillusionment with Hong Kong’s once vaunted judiciary.
« Without democracy, how can we have the rule of law, » the crowds yelled as they marched through sporadic downpours, from a muddy pitch to the city’s harbor-front government headquarters.
Organizers estimated about 40,000 people joined the march. Many protesters, some clad in black, expressed dismay with Hong Kong’s Secretary of Justice, Rimsky Yuen, who Reuters reported had over-ruled several other senior public prosecutors to seek jail terms for three prominent democrats: Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow.
« We believe he [Yuen] has been the key orchestrator in destroying Hong Kong’s justice, » said Avery Ng, one of the organizers of the rally that drew a coalition of some 50 civil and political groups.
Around one hundred Hong Kong activists are now facing possible jail terms for various acts of mostly democratic advocacy including the « Umbrella Revolution » in late 2014 that saw tens of thousands of people block major roads for 79 days in a push for universal suffrage.
