Remarks On The March
Most of the participants in the march comprised ordinary Hong Kong residents with mainstream social and political views. Notable remarks by individuals from the business, social or political elite of Hong Kong included the following.
- Gordon Wu, chairman of property developers Hopewell Holdings Ltd, criticised marchers by stating that deciding reform proposals through demonstrations reflect mobocracy rather than the rule of law.
- Stanley Ho, gambling magnate in Macau, estimated four days prior to the demonstration that the number of participants would be no more than 50,000. According to Ho, Hong Kong is "not ready" for democracy as most Hongkongers "do not know much about politics". By way of support of this view Ho indicated that he had not himself received political education in Hong Kong between kindergarten and university.
- Anson Chan, the former Chief Secretary participated in the march and criticised both the Hong Kong government and Beijing for the lack of real democratic reform.
Read more about this topic: December 2005 Protest In Hong Kong
Famous quotes containing the words remarks and/or march:
“Where do whites fit in the New Africa? Nowhere, Im inclined to say ... and I do believe that it is true that even the gentlest and most westernised Africans would like the emotional idea of the continent entirely without the complication of the presence of the white man for a generation or two. But nowhere, as an answer for us whites, is in the same category as remarks like Whats the use of living? in the face of the threat of atomic radiation. We are living; we are in Africa.”
—Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923)
“Averageness is a quality we must put up with. Men march toward civilization in column formation, and by the time the van has learned to admire the masters the rear is drawing reluctantly away from the totem pole.”
—Frank Moore Colby (18651925)