A multitude of views on display at Hong Kong's July 1 march
July 1 protesters, though fewer in number, were pushing issues as diverse as democracy, New Territories development and nuclear power
The turnout was far smaller than normal - perhaps a sign protest fatigue had set in after last year's Occupy sit-ins and last month's decision by lawmakers to reject the government's model for the 2017 chief executive election.
But while the familiar scenes of people swamping Victoria Park hours after the first marchers had left were nowhere to be seen, thousands of people still used July 1 as an opportunity to put across their views on a broad range of issues.
The protesters - many of whom carried yellow umbrellas, a symbol of Occupy - maintained their presence would let Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying realise that the people were keeping an eye on his government and that it had better perform well.
Ann Au, 26, an accountant, who marched with her mother, said: "We expected the government's political reform package to be rejected, but that does not mean we are making progress. Instead, we are only back to square one."
"I don't want the government to mistake our absence for acceptance. That's why I decided to be out here to join the march," her mother added.
Retired civil servant Max Leung, 60, who took part in his wheelchair, said he had never missed the annual July 1 march since 1997. Leung admitted that people did not seem to be as fired up as usual this year. "[But] seeing all these youngsters and Occupy, I'm optimistic for the future," he said. Leung vowed to show up for next year's march, irrespective of the turnout.
Watch: Why Hongkongers still join July 1 march after Beijing-backed election plan was rejected
Democracy, or the lack of it, drove Tracy Yu Ching-tung, 14, and her friend Meanne, to take to the street for the first time. "We want the five million electors' votes to actually mean something. There shouldn't be those conditions, like the threshold where only two or three people can run," said Meanne, referring to the framework Beijing set for the 2017 election.
However, a group called HK-UK Reunification Campaign appeared to be harking back to colonial times.
The Airport Development Concern Network took the opportunity to collect signatures against the building of the third runway at Chek Lap Kok. "It's a white elephant project," said the group's spokesman, Michael Mo Kwan-tai.
Kwu Tung North villager Lau Miu-sing travelled all the way to Hong Kong Island to protest against the government's plan to develop new towns in the northeastern New Territories, which, he said, would "devour" the home his family had lived in for four generations. "We are firmly against the plan since our land is being grabbed to profit the tycoons. With little compensation, we are being driven away. That is really unfair," he said.
Daniel Tam took part to highlight his worries about nuclear power. "We are concerned about the problem of nuclear energy. We should stop using nuclear energy immediately. The problem on the mainland is even more serious. We should pay more attention to it."
Elsewhere in the 48,000-strong crowd, local Nepali Bashant Angbuhang, who marched with a group of locally born and raised ethnic minorities, said: "We are here to press for Chinese to become a second language for local ethnic minorities." Equality and democracy should go hand in hand, he said.
An asylum seeker from Kenya, Njer Agnes, said: "We are here for refugees' human rights. We are not allowed to work as refugees here, but we have family to support."
Among the familiar faces seen yesterday was Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, pop singer and gay rights activist, who called for universal suffrage for the Legislative Council. Wong said: "[Gay rights] can only be advanced in a truly democratic Legco. Conservative and traditional thinking still dominates its members and society."
July 1 has been a day of protest since 1997, when Hong Kong was handed back to China. But it was only after the half-million-strong anti-government march in 2003 that the full power of the event was realised.
