‘We don’t want Hong Kong independence’: July 1 march organisers refuse to side with localists
The organisers of the annual Hong Kong July 1 pro-democracy rally have distanced themselves from localists advocating independence from China for the city. Daisy Chan Sin-ying, convener of the Civil Human Rights Front which organised the march, said the group did not think that Hong Kong should seek independence.
The organisers of yesterday’s annual Hong Kong pro-democracy rally have distanced themselves from localists advocating independence from China for the city.
Daisy Chan Sin-ying, convener of the Civil Human Rights Front which organised the march, said the group did not think that Hong Kong should seek independence.
“The front actually does not hold such a view [on Hong Kong independence],” she said during an RTHK talk show today.
She said the group, in demanding to amend the Basic Law to solve the city’s constitutional and livelihood issues, was a move that followed the “one country, two systems” framework.
“The Basic Law gives Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy except for military and diplomatic matters ... The problem is only that the central government is not implementing what is stated in the Basic Law,” she said.
“It is not that there is an urgent need for Hong Kong to seek independence.”
Chan made the remarks after a handful of localists joined yesterday’s rally, standing in front of the organisers’ “big banner” and leading the marchers at one point. The localists brandished the colonial-era Hong Kong flag, a symbol now seen as advocating independence.
