Tens of thousands rally in Hong Kong to defend rule of law
Thousands of people have attended a rally in Hong Kong to protest China’s alleged interference in the city’s judicial system and to demand resignation of the territory's top judicial official.
Organizers estimated about 40,000 people joined the march on Sunday which was held during sporadic downpours from a muddy pitch to Hong Kong’s harbor-front government headquarters.
The demonstration was carried out in protest at what organizers called "the authoritarian rule” of China over the city’s independent judiciary.
“Without democracy, how can we have the rule of law,” the crowds chanted in defense of Hong Kong’s independent judiciary.
“It’s like mainland (Chinese) laws have intruded into Hong Kong,” said a protester.
China promised to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and an independent judiciary when the city ceased to be a British colony in 1997. Activists, however, have repeatedly accused Beijing of backtracking on its promises to protect Beijing's “one country, two systems” arrangement.
The protesters also called for the resignation of Hong Kong’s Secretary of Justice, Rimsky Yuen, over his role in the recent jailing of young activists.
“We believe he (Yuen) has been the key orchestrator in destroying Hong Kong’s justice,” said an organizer of the rally.
Reports say Yuen is pushing for imprisonment sentences against some 100 activists in Hong Kong, most of them involved in anti-China protests and demonstrations. Among them are also notable figures of the “Umbrella Revolution,” a movement that began in late 2014 and saw tens of thousands blocking major roads for 79 days.
Yuen has denied allegations of acting under Chinese order, stressing independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary.
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