July 1, 2003: 500,000 take to Hong Kong’s streets in protest against proposed national security legislation
- More than half a million people took to the streets to protest against Article 23
- Chief executive said it was Hong Kong’s constitutional duty to enact the legislation
By Jimmy Cheung and Klaudia Lee
More than half a million Hong Kong people took to the streets yesterday in a landmark anti-government protest on the sixth anniversary of reunification with the mainland. The rare show of discontent is being seen as the biggest crisis yet for the Tung Chee-hwa administration.
Organisers last night claimed the turnout exceeded 500,000, a figure they said was well above expectations. The Civil Human Rights Front, which organised the protest, had hoped for 100,000 people.
Police said 350,000 had taken part in the protest before it peaked at 6pm, but conceded that this figure did not include all participants. The force said the protesters should be proud that hundreds of thousands of people finished the march within hours in a peaceful and orderly manner.
It was the biggest protest in Hong Kong since 1.2 million people hit the streets in support of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement in 1989.
