Hong Kong: Protests Expected at WTO Meeting

No Comments | December 6th, 2005 | Trackback

Thousands of people took to the streets in a peaceful demonstration for democracy Dec. 4 despite warnings from senior Chinese officials not to protest. The crowd, estimated at between 63,000 and 250,000, marched to demand one-person, one-vote elections in Hong Kong. Chinese authorities refuse to establish a timetable for such a vote, in part because if they agreed to such concessions for Hong Kong they would have little choice to grant them to Shanghai, Beijing or other cities if or when citizens there made similar demands. The Hong Kong legislature faces a Dec. 21 vote on a proposal to grant minimal political reforms.

Protests are expected during the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization Dec. 13-18. Demonstrations at these meetings in recent years have turned violent (Cancun 2003, Seattle 1999), but Hong Kong police say they are capable of handling any size protest. The meeting will be held in Wan Chai and areas set aside for protests are the Wan Chai Sports Ground and Wan Chai public cargo working area. Other places that may see demonstrations are Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, and hotels and streets near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center where the meeting will be held. Access to the Wan Chai area may be restricted.