Organiser says demonstration meant to show Beijing that local residents have not stopped speaking out
SHIRLEY.ZHAO@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Friday, 01 January, 2016, 3:56pm
UPDATED : Friday, 01 January, 2016, 3:56pm
The elephant was intended to symbolise government projects that march organisers deemed wasteful. Photo: Sam Tsang
Forty-five grassroots groups are slated to march this afternoon from Causeway Bay to Admiralty, demanding the government scrap ‘white elephant’ projects and use the money for a universal retirement protection scheme instead.
Different from past January 1 demonstrations, the march this year was not organised by Civil Human Rights Front.
Demonstration spokesman James Hon Lin-shan said that, although the front decided not to organise a demonstration this year, he felt grassroots groups needed to stand firm and express their demands.
Hon said the government had wasted too much money on white elephant projects that would not benefit everyday Hongkongers while it rejected a universal retirement protection scheme proposal.
This was why the groups demanded that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying step down, he said.
“We know Hongkongers have been feeling very tired about demonstrations, but if we don’t march, it could create a wrong impression with the Communist Party and the Hong Kong government that Hongkongers have stopped speaking out,” Hon said.
He added that the groups’ demands were not dissimilar to those of the front.
The march was led by a large symbolic figure – a white elephant made of wood and paper. Atop the elephant sat a paper figurine of Leung bearing a red lobster across its torso.
Leung’s wife, Regina Tong Ching-yi, was described by many Hongkongers as a lobster due to her combative manner.
Police said they had arranged extra manpower around Canal Road Flyover in Wan Chai, where a group of pro-government backers had planned to gather. The idea was to stave off potential conflicts between the two sides, an officer said.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1897012/hong-kong-protest-march-urges-cy-leungs-resignation-and-end
