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Thousands call for HK head to quit
From CNN's Senior Asia Correspondent Mike Chinoy
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Tens of thousands packed Hong Kong's city center in the second mass demonstration in a week, denouncing the government and its planned national security law. Timed to coincide with the reading of a controversial anti-subversion bill, the candlelight vigil went ahead Wednesday in spite of a dramatic announcement by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa earlier in the week saying the vote would be delayed. Tung was appointed by Beijing and his plans to enact the national security bill sent half a million marchers into the streets last week. The bill, named Article 23, outlaws subversion, treason, sedition and other crimes against the state, as required by the mini-constitution that took effect when Britain returned the former colony to China six years ago. "We need direct elections," one man told CNN. "Now, we don't get to choose our leaders." Deserted by some key allies, political analysts and many ordinary people say Tung's ability to govern is rapidly slipping away. "He knows that he lacks credibility and he hasn't got the mandate of the people and his government is in shambles," opposition legislator Martin Lee told CNN. "He should listen to what people say." Tung told reporters earlier Wednesday that his goal was to win back the support and trust of the people, but the message on the streets of Hong Kong was unmistakable. "He should step down," one woman said. "We're very disappointed in him. Since he took office, he hasn't done one good thing." "I want press freedom, religious freedom, and freedom of speech," another protester said. "The subversion law is selling us out." The past week's dramatic developments have created an acute dilemma for the Chinese authorities. Replacing an unpopular chief executive or allowing full democracy in Hong Kong risks triggering similar protests in mainland China. Doing nothing, however, almost guarantees the protests will continue. So far, Beijing has said little about the crisis. But the fact that China's state-run media have been barred from reporting protests like this underscores the sensitivity of the issue. It was China's fear that democracy activists in Hong Kong would carry their cause to the mainland that led Beijing to insist the territory adopt an anti-subversion law in the first place. Now opposition to that law has given Hong Kong's democracy movement its biggest boost in years.
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