Police keep low profile at Hong Kong protest

Associated Press

HONG KONG

Hong Kong streets were turned into rivers of umbrellas Sunday as hundreds of thousands of people marched through heavy rain down a major road in the Chinese territory, where massive pro-democracy demonstrations have become a regular weekend activity. Organizers said at least 1.7 million participated, though the police estimate was far lower.

The assembly was peaceful, with no reports of violence, making for a rare calm weekend in a protest movement that has been marked by violent clashes with police. Law-enforcement officers kept a low profile, with no riot police seen from the procession’s main routes. When stragglers convened outside a government complex in the late evening, other protesters urged them to go home.

Demonstrators who were shining laser pointers at a government building were convinced to leave, prompting applause from others in the group.

“We hope to see whether the government gives a response to this peaceful protest,” said Michael Leung, a 24-year-old who was ushering his fellow demonstrators away. “If we get a negative response, we cannot control the next [gathering].”

Organizer Bonnie Leung of the Civil Human Rights Front said earlier in the day that she hoped there would be no “chaotic situations.”

“We hope we can show the world that Hong Kong people can be totally peaceful,” she said.

The Civil Human Rights Front had organized three previous massive marches in Hong Kong since June. The movement, however, has been increasingly marked by clashes with police as demonstrators vent their frustrations over what they perceive to be the government’s blatant refusal to respond to their demands.