HONG KONG (AP) – Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators have marched through Hong Kong’s streets in the first major rally since mass protests last year.
Chanting “No fake universal suffrage. I want genuine universal suffrage,” the demonstrators on Sunday held yellow umbrellas, the symbol of the earlier protests.
The demonstrators oppose the Chinese government’s decision that candidates in the 2017 election for Hong Kong chief executive will be vetted by a largely Beijing-controlled nominating committee.
The final election plan must be approved by a two-thirds majority in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council before submitting to authorities in Beijing. But pro-democracy legislators, who hold 40 percent of the seats, have said they would veto the screening proposal.
“This is pseudo universal suffrage, we do not have the rights to elect who we want,” said protester Julia Choi.