Protesters Mark Anniversary Of Dissident's Death

Around 30 people on Wednesday staged a protest outside the central government's liaison office calling for a probe into the death of mainland dissident Li Wangyang, who was found dead at a hospital six years ago.

Li was found dead in Shaoyang, Hunan province, in June 2012, just days after appearing in a Hong Kong television interview saying that he would continue to fight for democracy on the mainland. Authorities there said he had killed himself.

But the protesters who rallied outside the liaison office rejected the official version of events.

"We come here to remind the whole world that Mr Li Wangyang was murdered for his freedom of speech, for his right to speak out, since the population of Hong Kong witnessed Mr Li Wangyang spoke in the interview," said Leung Kwok-hung from the League of Social Democrats.

Leung told RTHK's Jimmy Choi that the party chief of Hunan was promoted by the Communist Party after Li's death. "It is a black joke," he said.

The protesters also observed a minute of silence to mourn the activist. Li was jailed for 22 years for taking part in the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Trade Unions said they would hold a rally outside the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui on Wednesday evening, to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the activist's death.