Hong Kong, Aug 03: Pro-democracy politicians today launched a campaign to put pressure on Hong Kong's embattled leader Tung Chee-Hwa to resign and turning up the heat on the fight for democratic government here.
A Democrat, Emily Lau, announced the launch of the anti-Tung solidarity movement and said that it would be a platform for street protests and agitation.
"Obviously we want to involve the public and we will be taking to the streets. There will be demonstrations," she told the reporters.
Lau said that the anti-Tung coalition had only just formed an executive committee, and plans to force the "unpopular" Tung out of office were still on the drawing board.
During July 1 protest, which drew half a million marchers onto the streets and sparked Hong Kong's most serious political crisis since its return to Chinese control in 1997, called for Tung to step down. The protest was one among the loudest demands. The marchers also called on the government to scrap a controversial anti-subversion law and to reform Hong Kong's system of limited democracy.
An opinion survey conducted by Hong Kong University found that 70 per cent of the demonstrators wanted Tung out of office, Lau said.
"In some countries, if more than 10 per cent of the population took the streets the government would fall. However, Mr. Tung has stubbornly refused to go, so the Hong Kong people will have to work a lot harder if they want to get rid of him," she added.
Bureau Report