The New Year marches () were a fixture on the political calendar in Hong Kong. Thousands took to the streets demanding
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...
as part of the ongoing
democratic development
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
as well as to protest against further influence of mainland China in Hong Kong. Lead organiser for marches was the
Civil Human Rights Front
The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) was an organisation that focused on the issues of Hong Kong politics and livelihood, affiliated with almost all pan-democratic camps in Hong Kong. It was founded on 13 September 2002 and disbanded on 15 Aug ...
(CHRF). The Front disbanded in August 2021, following accusations by police in April that it was suspected of operating illegally due to not having been registered as organisation; its last remaining spokesperson
Figo Chan
Figo Chan Ho-wun ( zh, t=陳皓桓; born 3 April 1996) is a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist who served as convener of the Civil Human Rights Front from October 2020 until his conviction in May 2021, when he was succeeded by Chung Chung-fai. As ...
had been jailed in May in relation to the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government ...
.
2010 march
In a 2009 directive from
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, the
Hong Kong government said direct elections for the
chief executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
would come in 2017, and the legislature would not be fully elected until 2020.
Five pro-democracy camp legislators planned to resign en masse from
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Ko ...
.
[Msnbc.com.]
Msnbc.com
" ''Hong Kong marchers call for Democracy Now!.'' Retrieved on 2 January 2010. In December 2009, HK launched a proposal to increase the election committee seats for the chief executive from 800 to 1,200 individuals.
On 1 January 2010, protesters called for the release of Chinese activist
Liu Xiaobo, drafter of
Charter 08
Charter 08 is a manifesto initially signed by 303 Chinese dissident intellectuals and human rights activists. It was published on 10 December 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopting its name and style from ...
, was sentenced to 11 years in prison just a month earlier. The protest also came four days after
Donald Tsang
Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012.
Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyi ...
,
Hong Kong's chief executive, was given a warning by
China’s leadership to resolve deep-rooted conflicts.
[FT.com.]
Thousands demand HK poll reform
" ''Financial Times'' Retrieved on 2 January 2010.
Police security was put up around the
Beijing liaison office in HK.
["Multitudes march for universal suffrage". ''South China Morning Post''. Retrieved on 2 January 2010.] Layers of railings and human chains were set up protecting the building, and more than 1,000 police officers were deployed.
About 10 activists, mostly supporters of the
League of Social Democrats
The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp and stresses on "street actions" and "parliame ...
, broke through a cordon and stormed into the liaison office.
Des Voeux Road
Des Voeux Road Central and Des Voeux Road West are two roads on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. They were named after the 10th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir William Des Vœux. The name was sometimes spelt with the ligature œ i ...
was forced to close for an hour. Two police officers and one protester was injured.
The protesters did not leave until 7:45pm when league members were allowed to lay a mock coffin at the building's back entrance.
Attendance
A mix reporting of different statistics on the number of people who participated. March organizers said more than 10,000 protesters turned out.
Police put the number at 4,000.
Pro-democracy camp
The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic L ...
said they attracted more than the expected 30,000 people.
Other sources also suggest 30,000 protesters in participation with 9,000 reported by the police.
2013 march
Up to 130,000 people have held rival marches on 1 January 2013 in Hong Kong both for and against the city's chief executive
CY Leung
Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Ma ...
. Those protesting against him said he should step down over allegations he lied about illegal renovations and extensions to his mansion. Leung secretly extended his $64 million home without getting government planning permission or paying real estate fees. He is accused of lying about it during last year's election campaign. In response, Leung immediately erected a false wall to block access to the unauthorised extension, before awaiting official investigation. Leung claimed he had solved the problem as the illegal extension "did not exist anymore", but the action led to suspicion of destroying evidence. Leung had also been widely accused of hypocrisy over the issue, as he won the
election on 1 July last year by criticising his opponent,
Henry Tang
Henry Tang Ying-yen (; born 6 September 1952) is a Hong Kong politician who served as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2011. He held the position of Financial Secretary from 2003 to 2007. In 2012, he lost the Hong Kong Chief ...
for the
unauthorised building of a huge basement for a villa held in the name of his wife. Other reasons included universal suffrage, greater democracy, the widening wealth gap and Beijing's meddling in Hong Kong affairs. Organisers of the march calling for Leung's impeachment estimated their numbers at 130,000, although police put the figure at a lower 26,000 at the march's peak.
Supporters of Leung who organised a follow up march argued that he was beginning to address deep-rooted social issues. They also suggested that democracy is a Western concept, which is not compatible with fast economic development or Chinese culture. Supportive rally organisers reported that over 60,000 turned out, although police again reported a lower figure of 8,000.
2018 march
The march was organized by the Civic Human Rights Front. More than 10 pro-democracy groups and the camp's co-location concern group joined the march, as well as four disqualified lawmakers and Occupy movement leader Benny Tai Yiu-ting. The marchers protested seven social issues, including the West Kowloon co-location arrangement, the recent amendments to the Legislative Council's rules of procedure and the potential enactment of Basic Law Article 23. Organizers said 10,000 joined the march, while police said the turnout was 6,000.
2019 march
Approximately 5,500 protesters joined the rally, or 3,200 according to the police. They were joined by about 100
pro-independence activists including Wayne Chan and
Baggio Leung
Sixtus "Baggio" Leung Chung-hang (; born 7 August 1986) is a Hong Kong activist and politician. He is the convenor of Youngspiration, a localist political group in Hong Kong that leans towards Hong Kong independence, and is also leader and ...
, as well as
Nathan Law
Nathan Law Kwun-chung ( zh, link=no, t=羅冠聰; born 13 July 1993) is an activist and politician from Hong Kong. As a former student leader, he has been chairman of the Representative Council of the Lingnan University Students' Union (LUS ...
and
Joshua Wong
Joshua Wong Chi-fung (; born 13 October 1996) is a Hong Kong activist and politician. He served as secretary-general of the pro-democracy party Demosistō until it disbanded following the implementation of the Hong Kong national security la ...
of
Demosisto
Demosisto (stylised Demosistō) () was a pro-democracy political organisation established on 10 April 2016 as a political party. It was led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow – former leaders of Scholarism, along with Nathan Law, former secre ...
. The organizer, the
Civil Human Rights Front
The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) was an organisation that focused on the issues of Hong Kong politics and livelihood, affiliated with almost all pan-democratic camps in Hong Kong. It was founded on 13 September 2002 and disbanded on 15 Aug ...
, had refused to comply with a request by authorities to stop people from carrying pro-independence banners outside government headquarters.
2020 march
See also
*
Hong Kong 1 July marches
The Hong Kong 1 July protests was an annual protest rally originally held by the Civil Human Rights Front from the day of handover in 1997 on the HKSAR establishment day. However, it was not until 2003 that the march drew large public attenti ...
References
External links
#0101hk Twitter account
Internet video
2010元旦大遊行(2)長毛勇救陳巧文2010元旦大遊行(3)長毛呼籲群眾注意安全2010元旦大遊行(4) 陳巧文誣蔑長毛抽水長毛 vs 陳巧文 + 中大搽小陰評論@NOW新聞*{{in lang, zh
元旦大遊行社民連.抬自製棺材到中聯辦.黃毓民叫口號01.01.2010
New year march
2010 protests
New year march
2013 protests
Chinese democracy movements
Protest marches in Hong Kong
Hong Kong