July 1 March Organisers Lose Starting Point Appeal

Organisers of the July 1 pro-democracy rally on Monday lost an appeal to be able to start the event from East Point Road in Causeway Bay, with officials agreeing with the police that this can't be allowed due to safety concerns.

Members of the Civil Human Rights Front had made their case to the Appeal Board on Public Meetings and Processions after the police refused to approve the requested starting point.

For the second year in a row, a pro-Beijing group has booked out the football pitches at Victoria Park where the march had traditionally begun from.

The police issued a "letter of no objection" allowing the front to gather participants on the park's central lawn instead, although this location was not actually requested and organisers say the paths out of the park are too narrow to accommodate so many people.

The front's Au Nok-hin said during the hearing that he didn't expect a large turnout for the march this year, given the "lukewarm political atmosphere", and he said only 3,000 people were likely to join the event from the very beginning.

Au said East Point Road would be spacious enough to accommodate such a figure.

But Senior Superintendent Peter Tse said past experience shows at least 10,000 people join the march at the starting point every year and the East Point Road site, near the Sogo shopping mall, could only safely accommodate 1,500.

The appeal board agreed with the police's assessment that using East Point Road for the start of the march would have a negative effect on motorists and pedestrian safety.

It also rejected the front's alternative request to be able to rally at the Moreton Terrace Bus Terminal and a nearby playground.

After the ruling, the group's vice-convenor, Hung Chun-ngai, said they will arrange for a “necessary” number of people to start the march from the lawn in Victoria Park, and will encourage others to join the procession along its route through Causeway Bay.

Hung said the front was still considering whether to apply for a judicial review over the matter.