A perfect day to sweat for democracy

Thousands of protesters take to the streets under blue skies and a blazing sun

In the weeks leading up to the July 1 march, some activists worried that the record-setting rainstorms and relative lack of galvanising political issues would conspire against the annual gathering.

But as the city awoke yesterday, the blue skies, rampant inflation and general dissatisfaction with the government proved the perfect combination, drawing thousands of people to march under a blazing sun.

"It's strange that year after year, protesters will march under such a strong sun. It seems sweating together for democracy has become a collective memory," said Democrat Gary Fan Kwok-wai.

While universal suffrage remained a key issue, also prominent among the sea of placards and slogans on display were complaints about inflation and public anger over Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's naming of political aides.

But Mr Tsang's administration was not the only party feeling the heat. A daughter of Civic Party leader Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, who brought her family to the march, felt dizzy and almost fainted, prompting some to fear that the sun, rather than any rain, would end up turning away marchers.

Earlier in the day, a red-faced and agitated Jackie Hung Ling-yu, vice-convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, said: "The heavens might not be helping Donald Tsang, but they are not helping me, either. Look at the small numbers." But her fears soon subsided as protesters filled three soccer pitches in Victoria Park.

While pan-democrats said that unlike in previous years, Beijing seemed to be paying less attention to the turnout for the march because of an apparent lack of major controversies that might endanger Mr Tsang's rule, some researchers working for the central government said Vice-President Xi Jinping had deliberately delayed a visit to the city until the week after July 1 to avoid coinciding with the march, which could have been embarrassing.

And with the Legislative Council election not far off, some politicians capitalised on the march as a platform to drum up support ahead of September's poll.

Rolling out a team of second- generation candidates who are considered rising political stars, the Civic Party spared no effort to ensure maximum exposure by equipping them with loudspeakers in Causeway Bay - one of the bottlenecks where the procession was slowed down by traffic police.

But Civic Party candidates such as Tanya Chan and Tsang Kwok-fung were taught a lesson after being tricked into repeating their competitor's slogan - shouted by a 100-strong group of protesters claiming to be pan-democrats who called for "alternative health care".

The group's leader, Alexander Yuan, a doctor who campaigns for naturopathic therapy, among other issues, has openly distributed campaign booklets announcing his plans to contest the Hong Kong Island constituency.

"He must be very rich, because the Electoral Affairs Commission could easily count the cost of the entire protest into his election expenses," one Civic Party member said. There is a HK$2 million cap for campaign spending for candidates running on Hong Kong Island.

Both Cyd Ho Sau-lan and Lo Wing-lok mobilised supporters to promote their campaigns.

All their campaigning pointed to one issue echoed by the protesting crowds - a desire for the government to improve its governance, both in style and in substance.

"What angered me most was how Donald Tsang appointed his political appointees. Why are they paid so much with so little ability, while I am paid peanuts despite being a good worker and have to put up with inflation?" said one female marcher.

The Reverend Ralph Lee Ting-sun of the Methodist Church, who led a pre-march prayer session, said the crowd would return every year until universal suffrage was introduced in response to public demand.

"Some people said July 1 has become a ritual. It is because our annual marching for democracy has become Hong Kong's tradition," he said.

SCMP. Jul 2, 2008.