3,000 join Hong Kong pro-democracy march

Youthful march in support of May 16 elections

chinaworker.info reporters

3,000 people, with a large proportion of young people, took to the streets of Hong Kong on Tuesday 6 April to support the May 16 by-elections, which are billed as a de-facto referendum for universal suffrage. Amid a sea of banners and yellow shirts chosen to symbolise hope, the protestors marched from Victoria Park to the city's Central Government Offices.

The march, organized by the pro-democracy League of Social Democrats and Civic Party, called for the abolition of functional constituencies which account for half of the 60 seats on the city's legislature. The protest follows the resignation of five lawmakers from the two parties (3 LSD and 2 Civic Party) in a push to increase pressure on Beijing and the Hong Kong capitalist establishment after years of filibuster and delay over universal suffrage. Hong Kong, which reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, was technically entitled to full democracy from 2007 under the terms of its post-handover mini constitution.

Pro-Beijing parties have vowed to boycott the by-elections, after the Chinese dictatorship condemned the campaign as a "blatant challenge" to the city's constitutional status. Supporters of chinaworker.info and the CWI were active in the demonstration – as in the byelection campaign – with the slogan "Fight for democracy, kick out the capitalists!"