Group Calls Off Women's Day March

The Hong Kong Women Workers' Association on Saturday called off its planned march on Sunday without giving a reason, with police saying the decision was down to the organiser.

The march, to mark next week's International Women's Day, had secured the required letter of no objection from the police.

In a post on Facebook, the group said it had "regrettably" decided to call off the parade and rally, and apologised.

Speaking at a police media briefing, Acting Senior Superintendent Dennis Cheng told journalists that unspecified "violent groups" had wanted to join the march, but the decision to cancel was down to the organisers, who opted not to go ahead after balancing the pros and cons of the event.

"I would like to stress that police respect the decision of the organisers, and we believe they have strived to balance the different factors and made the decision not to conduct the public events tomorrow, so we won't have any further comments on any participants or any further figures about tomorrow," he said.

The march would have started at Southorn Playground in Wan Chai and gone to government headquarters in Admiralty.

Cheng said the cancellation of the event meant that the letter of no objection was void, and anyone who took part in a gathering risked violating the Public Order Ordinance.

He said the police had a responsibility to prevent anyone from carrying out illegal activities based on factors such as national security, public security, public order, and protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

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