Hong Kong 1 July Marches
The Hong Kong 1 July protests (Chinese: 七一遊行) is an annual protest rally originally led by the Civil Human Rights Front since the 1997 handover on the HKSAR establishment day. However, it was not until 2003 that the march drew large public attention by opposing the legislation of Basic Law Article 23. The 2003 protest, with 500,000 marchers, was the largest protest seen in Hong Kong since the 1997 handover. Prior to this, only the 21 May 1989 pro-democracy protest drew more people with 1.5 million marchers in Hong Kong sympathizing with the participants of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The introduction of Article 23 legislation was temporarily shelved because of the protest. Since then, the 1 July marches have been held every year as a channel to demand democracy, universal suffrage, rights of minorities, protection of freedom of speech, and a variety of other political concerns.
Read more about Hong Kong 1 July Marches: 1997 - 2002, 2004 Protest, 2005 Protest(s), 2006 Protest, 2007 Protest, 2008 Protest, 2009 Protest, 2010 Protest, 2011 Protest, 2012 Protests
Famous quotes containing the word july:
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)