2010 Protest
Previously the pan-democracy camp was united in their goal to fight for universal suffrage for the city of 7 million people in 2012 and nothing less. After the consultation document for selecting the Chief exec and Legco politicians was passed in late June, there was no more universal suffrage. Instead, Beijing signed an alternative method to choose the CE and Legco politicians. A controversial graffiti incident even took place after the consultations.
The pan-democrat camp was split. Several hundred democratic party members faced verbal abuse throughout the march to the HK government headquarters for selling out to Beijing. Protesters hurling chants of "Shame on you" and "You betrayed Hong Kong people." About 52,000 people took part in the protest. A 2,000-person anniversary parade was organised by opposition pro-government groups. Two weeks after the protests, many have questioned the state of the Democratic party and whether protests are of any use, especially since HK is not a place where citizens make decisions for themselves. Party chairman Albert Ho publicly responded "Even if you replaced Donald Tsang with another chief, you still have to deal with the People's Liberation Army, which is another type of power.
Read more about this topic: Hong Kong 1 July Marches
Famous quotes containing the word protest:
“When we of the so-called better classes are scared as men were never scared in history at material ugliness and hardship; when we put off marriage until our house can be artistic, and quake at the thought of having a child without a bank-account and doomed to manual labor, it is time for thinking men to protest against so unmanly and irreligious a state of opinion.”
—William James (1842–1910)