July 1st Protests

July 1st marks the anniversary of the day that Hong Kong was turned over to China. The past two years 500,000 protesters turned out on the street to protest for democracy. Two years ago the proximate cause was a new anti-subversion law. Last year the focus of the protests was against the governor. But this year the governor has been replaced and people are generally content. A large protest this year would signal that people were truly interested in democracy, and not just in protesting against specific issues. Well, the protests turned out to be pretty small. The papers said between 30,000 - 40,000. To me it did not seem that impressive. The protests were also very calm and peaceful. Hong Kong citizens line up to cast votes in a mock election. Protesters listen to music and speakers.