Hong Kong protesters diversify

The protest, signaled by radio talk shows and by e-mail networks sent by disparate civic groups, was significant in several ways, analysts say.

Its makeup was more diverse - in both class and motive - than the July protests. The July 1 march of 500,000 (followed by two rallies of 25,000) focused on a draconian national security bill, later tabled. The Jan. 1 rally was not covered in the official Chinese press.

The New Year march included student unions, trade unions, blue-collar service workers, monks, people waving Taiwanese national flags, as well as the white-collar families holding hands that characterized the July 1 event.

The Jan. 1 event invoked a need for broad structural changes, including a process leading to direct elections that would clear three hurdles: a two-thirds approval in the legislature, the approval of the chief executive, and approval by the Standing Committee in Beijing. The first test will come in elections next September.

Moreover, in more than a dozen random interviews with marchers, it was clear that commonly held assumptions about the movement are untrue. In July it was assumed that Hong Kong people were unhappy due to the SARS epidemic and long standing economic woes. Hong Kong is widely characterized as an "apolitical" city, with some analysts arguing that once the cash registers start ringing again, things will return to business as usual.

Yet the march took place during a week of front-page headlines reporting improved trade and predicting a better economic year. Some 90 percent of participants desired "direct elections," according to a University of Hong Kong poll.

"One reason I'm here is to show we are still concerned about the future of Hong Kong, even though the economy is improving," says Henry Chen, a young business man interviewed in the fading light with his wife, who silently nodded agreement. "People say we are only interested in money. That isn't true."

The event started in Victoria Park by the harbor and ended at the central government offices. People came four to 12 abreast in a steady flow for several hours; tied red, blue, and yellow ribbons to an iron fence (the symbol of a vote); then walked back to their homes.

"This was a day of empowerment, jubilation, hope ... as well as discontent," says Margaret Ng, an attorney, legislator, and leading democrat. "If the government now fails to bring a consultation document, or makes silly remarks that turnout was low, that will only provoke people. Hong Kong people are very mild. We have to be pushed very hard to take to the streets. So there isn't a question what our desires are.

"Beijing has not said Hong Kong is not ready for democracy," she says. "It said it wanted 10 years of stability after the hand over. But we now feel there is too much delay, and so there is frustration."

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