Update | Democracy rally kicks off July 1 day of protest in Hong Kong as CY Leung calls for 'stability'
Members of League of Social Democrats call for open elections and burn picture of chief executive outside flag-raising ceremony, as up to half a million prepare to take to the streets
Rain showers and an early start were not enough to put off the first protesters of July 1, as up to 20 members of the League of Social Democrats called for open elections and burned a copy of Beijing's white paper outside the flag-raising ceremony in Bauhinia Square on Tuesday morning.
LIVE: Thousands gather ahead of July 1 march as barricades go up in Central
Holding banners, they chanted “We want public nomination” and “We do not fear the white paper”, a reference to Beijing’s unprecedented policy paper on “one country, two systems” released earlier this month.
Meanwhile, at a reception in Wan Chai after the flag-raising ceremony celebrating the 17th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that the city’s residents should avoid doing anything that might damage Hong Kong’s “prosperity and stability”.
Leung was speaking amid plans by the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement to stage a sit-in in the heart of the city if Leung’s administration fails to deliver a plan for the 2017 chief executive election that would guarantee voters a genuine choice between candidates.
The Federation of Students and the student-led group Scholarism announced plans on Monday to stage a similar sit-in after Tuesday’s main pro-democracy rally in Chater Road, and outside the chief executive’s office in Admiralty, until 8am on Wednesday morning.
