Three pro-democracy groups apply for permission to hold annual July 1 march

League of Social Democrats, Tin Shui Wai Connection and Save Lantau Alliance applied on Friday to the police for its consent to arrange the annual July 1 protest on the handover anniversary. 

Civil Human Right Front had been organising the march since 2003 but the group said on Sunday that it would not hold any activities after the police questioned its legitimacy. 

“The July 1 protest has become a platform to express the needs of civilians and fight for democracy and universal suffrage,” Convenor of Save Lantau Alliance Eddie Tse Sai-kit said.

Deputy secretary general of the League of Social Democrats, Vanessa Chan Po-ying, said the proposed time, route and destination were the same as the previous demonstration.

She said they expected the police to cite the epidemic as a reason to oppose their application so they included many precautionary measures such as grouping in four, keeping a 1.5-metre distance and offering masks and cleansing products to keep the risk of spreading to the lowest. 

Mr Tse said Hong Kong people need to cherish the value of protesting on the street on July 1.

“We would like to tell Hongkongers that there is a group of people who stay persistent every year to come out despite the suppression and political risk,” said Lam Chun, a member of Tin Shui Wai Connection. “I hope Hongkongers can come out to show the scene of more than a million participants.”

“We will keep on when people’s hearts are not dead,” Ms Chan said.

Mr Lam said they would have a meeting with the police on details within a couple of days and would appeal if permission was not given.

“Hongkongers from every walks of life have their demands on the government,” said a citizen Ms Chan, who refused to give her full name. “There is not only one reason.”

She said she was supportive of a peaceful protest.

“We hope to express our freedom and demands,” Eric Chan, a citizen, said.