Dozens of pro-democracy activists showed up at the annual Hong Kong Marathon early morning Sunday to call for free elections in the city and demand the resignation of several top officials.
Over 70,000 people gathered on Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, to participate in full marathon, half-marathon, and 6-mile (10 kilometers) events.
Pro-democracy groups also assembled at Tsim Sha Tsui, raising yellow umbrellas and “I want genuine universal suffrage” banners. They also called repeatedly for hugely unpopular Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying to step down, along with other top officials like police commissioner Andy Tsang and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam.
Leung, Lam, and members of the pro-Beijing establishment have come under fire for appearing unmoved and unsympathetic towards Hongkonger’s cries for a free vote in the city’s next Chief Executive elections in 2017, even after Hong Kong’s youths led a 79-day long street occupation—the Umbrella Movement—to demand true democracy.
Police commissioner Tsang has been slammed for not taking sufficient action to discipline police officers who violently attacked protesters, passers-by, and the press during the Occupy protests, as well as for planning to deal harshly with minors involved in pro-democracy activities.
