Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Hong Kong today demanding greater democracy in the territory.
Organisers said over 350,000 people gathered despite intense
heat on the seventh anniversary of the former British colony's
return to Chinese control.
The principal trigger for the protest was Beijing's decision to
deny Hong Kong universal suffrage.
The figures, unconfirmed by police, were down on the turnout of
500,000 at a similar politically-charged demonstration last year.
Last year's march, in protest at anti-subversion legislation that many feared would curtail civic freedoms, was also seen as an expression of frustration at the handling of the SARS crisis and the economy.
This year's rally was likely to prove a major embarrassment for China in its attempts to stifle the drive for democracy.
Activists have been angered by a Chinese ruling in April that
ended hopes of universal suffrage by 2007, when the city must select its next leader.
The ruling prompted international criticism and fears that China
was encroaching on principles set out at the 1997 handover under which Hong Kong was guaranteed limited autonomy for a period of 50 years.
