Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters stormed the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday, braving the police and running the tide to show that their movement remains popular despite Beijing's violence and threats of intervention.
The mobilization, which began in June and is unprecedented in the former British colony, had seen its image tarnished this week by scenes of violence after five days of sit-in at the airport. To put a stop to the accusations of "terrorism" that emanated from the Chinese central government, a call for a "rational and non-violent" rally for Sunday was launched by the Civil Rights Front (FCHR).
"Let's take Hong Kong, the revolution of our time"
According to this non-violent organization, more than 1.7 million people marched Sunday, the strongest mobilization in weeks. "It's been a long day and we are very tired, but seeing so many people walking for Hong Kong in the rain, it gives strength to everyone," said one of the protesters, Danny Tam, 28.
In the early afternoon, the crowd had first massed in the pouring rain in Victoria Park, in the heart of Hong Kong Island, forming a sea of multicolored umbrellas. The protesters then marched to Admiralty District, further west, defying the police ban that allowed only a static rally in the park. Late Sunday night, hundreds of masked demonstrators were circling the government headquarters, chanting "Let's take Hong Kong, the revolution of our time."
Very few concessions from Beijing
The semi-autonomous region, which is a center of global finance, has been going through since the beginning of June its most serious crisis since its return to China in 1997, with demonstrations and almost daily actions to demand, in particular, universal suffrage. The movement got very little from the pro-Beijing Hong Kong executive, except for the suspension of the text authorizing extraditions to mainland China, which set fire to the dust.