'Oct 1 March To Mark A Day Of Mourning For China'

The Civil Human Rights Front said on Wednesday that the Communist Party has suppressed and tortured the Chinese people for 70 years and a march the group are planning for October 1 will come on a "day of mourning" for the country.

The front says it is hoping to organise a march from Causeway Bay to Chater Garden in Central, beginning at 2pm on National Day.

Before that, on Saturday, the group is planning a two-hour rally at Tamar Park from 7pm, to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the Occupy movement.

Front convenor Jimmy Sham said the current protests are part of Hong Kong's continuing fight for democracy and the Occupy campaign of 2014 was an earlier instalment of this "serial drama".

The group said if the police refuse permission for the two protests, they will be forced to cancel them.

But many other demonstrations that were banned by the police over the past couple of months went ahead regardless, and the front said if the authorities want the upcoming protests to go smoothly, the best approach is to approve them, so organisers can take charge of the proceedings.

"Hongkongers are very smart and we also see the spirit of this movement is to 'be water'. We know, even without the Civil Human Rights Front, there will be some actions in the street, there will be demonstrations," said the group's deputy convenor Wong Yik-mo.

Wong added that the only difference is that the turnout is likely to be higher if the protests are sanctioned.

"We also urge the police to be smart, to not play this dirty card, because all these cases will be reported to the UN," he said.

The group said the police had urged them to ban violent protesters from taking part in their events, but noted that it would be impossible for them to determine, in advance, who might resort to using violence.