"Concerned about unfair election, freedom of speech and freedom of expression' - Protester

The annual march on July 1, marking the anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China turned into a massive protest according to skynews.

However this year's gathering, the largest in a decade, is widely seen as an important gauge of the shifting public mood among Hong Kongers.

Under the umbrella of a movement calling itself Occupy Central, the pro-democracy marchers are pledging to bring the Central district of Hong Kong island to a standstill.
They broadly represent a growing number of people who are worried that Beijing's communist government is eroding their political and social freedoms.

"We have long been fighting for true democracy in Hong Kong," Edward Chin, an island financier told Sky News.
"We want fair competition, we want fair play and we want true democracy and we don't want Beijing to exert premature influence over Hong Kong's people. They should honour (the) 'one-country, two-systems' (principle)."

Hong Kong was relinquished as a British colony and handed back to China in 1997.
Under the agreement, China pledged to govern Hong Kong under a principle of "one country, two systems" giving the territory "a high degree of autonomy". It has its own legal system and the freedom of assembly and expression are protected.
But, nearly two decades on, there are concerns that Beijing's hand is increasingly at the levers in Hong Kong.
"We are concerned about unfair competition and about freedom of speech and freedom of press. We have seen it deteriorate in the last two years since CY Leung became the Chief Executive of Hong Kong," Mr Chin said.

Beijing has promised direct elections by 2017 but only from a list of candidates selected by a committee.
Over the past 10 days, nearly 800,000 people voted in an unofficial referendum expressing their desire to choose their leader. Beijing called the referendum "illegal".

"Hong Kong should not just be ruled by the ruling class and the special privileged few," Mr Chin told Sky News.
"We are losing, at a very quick pace, what we were promised - the two systems, one-country policy signed by China and Britain. The UK, who ruled Hong Kong for over 145 years, should look into the situation more because now in Hong Kong, people have lost the confidence in mainland China," he said.


Skynews