July 1 Marchers Denied Victoria Park Pitches Again

The organisers of the annual July 1 rally have again failed to get permission to use Victoria Park as the march's starting point.

For the second year in a row, the Civil Human Rights Front lost out to the pro-government Hong Kong Celebrations Association.

Authorities say the association has priority according to regulations, since it is a registered charity.

The chairman of the association, Cheng Yiu-tong, denied that his group is deliberately blocking use of the park.

Cheng also said they need to use all six football pitches for their event, and simply cannot coordinate with the front and set aside some space for the annual march.

He noted that 210,000 people visited a science and technology exhibition the group organised at the park last year, featuring models of Chinese spacecraft and rockets.

But he said the group hasn't decided on the theme of its event this year.

The July 1 rally had traditionally used the football pitches as a starting point, until last year.