Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets and
demanded more democracy Friday on the eighth anniversary of Hong Kong’s
return to Chinese rule.

The turnout was much smaller this year than in the two previous
years, when a half million people took part. Police said they counted
11,000 at the march’s start, while the organizers said 45,000 joined
the event.

Many believe the democracy movement lost some steam last year after
Beijing snuffed out hopes that Hong Kongers would soon be allowed to
directly elect their leader and entire legislature.

Others thought that fewer turned out because popular new leader
Donald Tsang has taken over and people want to give him a chance.

The protesters streamed into Victoria Park to "vote" in a mock
referendum on whether Hong Kong should have full democracy — also
denied voters when Hong Kong was a British colony. Organizers said
8,400 cast ballots, which would be tallied soon.

Some protesters carried a huge yellow banner that said, "Democracy,
fight for a popular election." Others held signs that called Tsang a
Beijing puppet, accusing him of being tightly controlled by Chinese
leaders.

The crowd, which also included gay rights, labor and migrant worker
groups, walked for about two hours to government headquarters, where a
rally was held.

"Hong Kong people are not just economic animals. We need democracy, freedoms and human rights," said protester Tina So, 50.

Protester Cheung Cheuk-wei, an unemployed 48-year-old, said, "I’m
here to fight for democracy. I want to tell the government we have this
demand."

Alfred Poon, 62, a teacher, also wanted speedy political reforms and
said he wasn’t discouraged by China’s refusal to allow full democracy
now.

"The fact that they have rejected our demands means we have to continue the fight," Poon said.

New leader Donald Tsang celebrated the handover at a morning
reception, where he said that the public has become more patriotic and
that ties with mainland China were closer.

"Never has the bond of flesh and blood, the interdependency between
Hong Kong and the mainland been so real to us," said Tsang, who has
spent 38 years in government.

The Chinese government’s "support for Hong Kong is not empty talk,"
he said. "Its action has spoken loud and clear throughout the last
eight years. Nor is the patriotism of the Hong Kong people mere lip
service."

The reception was briefly interrupted by radical lawmaker Leung
Kwok-hung, who yelled, "Return power to the people." Security guards
quickly dragged him out as he shouted slogans.

Leung said many potential protesters stayed home because "they want to give Donald Tsang some time to respond to problems."

Also Friday, another large crowd gathered at Hong Kong Stadium for a
patriotic parade with traditional lion dancers, marching bands, people
dressed in Chinese opera costumes and marchers of all ages carrying
small Chinese flags of paper. Organizers said about 20,000 turned out,
but police had no estimates.

Bonnie Lai, 27, a clerk, said, "I’m here to celebrate. Beijing has
already ruled out direct elections. What’s the point of coming out to
protest?"

Philip Lee, 28, a technical officer, said he supports
democracy, but said it should evolve gradually over the next 20 years.
"I want Hong Kong to be a more harmonious society," he said.