Exclusive | Police will ban mass rally and march on Saturday to call for universal suffrage on fifth anniversary of failed Hong Kong electoral reform package, sources say
- Source says police will object to Civil Human Rights Front application, saying risk is too great and citing petrol bombs thrown last weekend
- Move likely to spark more chaos and turmoil
Hong Kong police will ban a rally and march on Saturday by the organiser of three record-breaking mass protests over the past two months, citing heightened safety concerns after last weekend’s escalation of violence, the South China Morning Post has learned.
The Civil Human Rights Front would be informed of its application’s rejection on Thursday, a police source said.
The move was likely to spark more chaos and turmoil over the weekend, given the event was scheduled on an important red-letter day to mark the fifth anniversary of the announcement of a restrictive electoral reform package by Beijing that was eventually rejected by Hong Kong.
The rally and march were supposed to call for genuine universal suffrage, organisers said, rather than having pre-vetted candidates for chief executive, and to reiterate the five key demands of the anti-government protests of the past two months. Those include the withdrawal of the now-shelved extradition bill that initially triggered the protests and an independent inquiry in police actions during them.
The front had originally planned to gather at Chater Garden in Central at 3pm and march to the liaison office, Beijing’s representative body in the city, in Western district.
