July 1st — the immortal spirit of Hong Kong

Since the march of July 1st was held in 2003 for the first time, the 1st of July has symbolized the spirit of Hong Kong. After a decade of ups and downs, Hong Kong people once again created miracles this year. 430 thousand citizens came out for the next generation, marched through the storm of signal No.3, roared the CCP chief executive CY Leung to resign, and wrote a chapter in history.

PHOTOGRAPHER: WONG WAI MING

BY SARAH LIANG THE EPOCH TIMES STAFF

The organizer of Hong Kong’s July 1st march—Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF)—says that 430 thousand citizens took to the street in the storm and have attracted quite a lot of attentions of international media, including BBC, New York Times, and Yomiuri Shimbun. Yet the official mouthpiece of the CCP—“Global Times”-- yesterday commented on the march that contained tens of thousands of people, and interpreted it as a “new traditional program”. The Global Times even says it is “very cheap” for Hong Kong people to express their various aspirations.

After her overnight preparation of the march was done, the convener of CHRF, Jackie Hung, countered to the comments of Global Times, that “for them, it may be a cheap aspiration, but for us, it is an opportunity for democracy”.

She emphasized: “We do not want to take to the street on every July 1st, and we also want a vacation. But there are so many problems in this society, and we do not have any channels for our complaints to go through, so we must take to the street to express our feelings”.

After a decade of ups and downs, Jackie Hung is very glad to see that under the storm of Signal No.3, there were still 430 thousand people taking to the street, walking in the stormy wind and rain. She was moved to tears by these scenes. They prove that the spirit of Hong Kong has never faded away, and will not.

The insistence on Democracy; a commitment to society

“The insistence of Hong Kong people on democracy and their commitment to society also stand for a spirit of Hong Kong. We will not be politicalized even under the threats of government. More and more people are caring about the society. This is also a spirit. We are not just to make money, but are hoping that the entire social environment could be improved so that our next generation lives in the free air. We will not be limited to our own personal angles. Instead, we believe everyone’s coming-out can change this society.” Said by Jackie Huang.

In the march of July 1st, the Legislative Council Wong Yuk-man, who kept appealing in Wan Chai Street all the time, applauded Hong Kong people loudly. He said: “In such a heavy rain and wind, so many people still took to the street. This indicates that Hong People will come out at a critical time.” He also said that among the procession, the slogan that touched him most is the one made by the Epoch Times “For the next generation, the Wolf Chun-Ying should step down”.

For the next generation, resist the enslavement education of the CCP

As a person born in the 1950s and having received higher education in the 1970s, Wong Yuk-man said people in his generation do everything for the next generation. “We do not want our next generation to receive the CCP’s enslavement education, so this sentence touches us very much”, said by Wong Yuk-man.

A year ago people were roaring “Let Leung Chun-Ying step down! Overthrow the CCP regime in Hong Kong!”. Wong Yuk-man is very happy that the voice of roaring CY Leung to step down has gone to unprecedented height on July 1st of this year. He said: “this indicates that people’s discontents has gone to the peak. It is Hong Kong people’s aspirations to require him to resign.”

Until now, CY Leung remained deaf to people’s voices of requiring him to resign, and claimed that the whole government including the civil service team is united. Wong Yuk-man teased: “He says they are united, so in fact they are not united. We often contact with the civil service, and now the entire team is demoralized.” He believes that Leung Chun-Ying should step down immediately, and reply to aspirations of the public. He also thinks that the future direction of Hong Kong democrats should still be local, democratic, anti-communist. “How could you succeed if you do not fight against the CCP?” said by Wong Yuk-man.
　

PHOTOGRAPHER: WONG WAI MING