July 1 March To Start At Park's Lawn After All

Organisers of the annual July 1 pro-democracy march have dropped their threat to start the rally from an unauthorised location, saying they would arrange for at least some of the participants to gather at a police-designated point in Victoria Park.

The Civil Human Rights Front failed for a second year in a row to secure the use of the football pitches at the park, with a pro-Beijing group awarded the area on that day.

The police later issued a "letter of no objection" for the march to begin from the park's lawn. But this location was strongly opposed by the march organisers, who said narrow pathways mean it takes too long for people to make their way out of the park from that location.

Despite earlier claiming they could begin the rally at East Point Road in Causeway Bay even without permission, on Thursday the front said there would be no act of civil disobedience after all.

It said it would ask some people to gather at the lawn, while also requesting that the police do not stop others from joining the march along its route to Tamar.