Another pro-democracy march took place in Hong Kong on Sunday... for the eleventh week over a now-suspended extradition bill.
But unlike the previous demonstrations,.... Sunday's gathering was peaceful.
Kim Da-mi has the details.
Braving torrential downpours, hundreds of thousands of people returned to the streets of Hong Kong, this time at Victoria Park.
The park was the starting point of the huge peaceful marches in June.
As protesters planned, the march remained peaceful throughout the day...for the first time in 4 weeks.
There was no use of tear gas by the police and people freely marched through the city with their umbrellas, including through the Causeway Bay and Wan Chai areas.
The police did approve the Sunday rally but still didn't allow a march through the Central district, fearing possible clashes like before.
But protesters marched anyway.
According to the organizers, around 1-point-7 million people participated in the demonstrations, but police tallied the number far lower at 128-thousand people.
The protests began back in June over a controversial, but now-scrapped extradition law.
But demonstrations now focus on five demands based on greater democratic freedoms, including the formal withdrawal of an extradition bill and an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality.
"The campaign has the support but the government doesn't. So we urge that Carrie Lam must listen to people's voices and implement the five demands, and also ask the police to revisit, to reconsider their strategies against protesters."
Fortunately, China's military, which was seen conducting exercises near Hong Kong, did not intervene in Sunday's protest.
But concerns remain that the Chinese government may use military from the mainland to crack down on the protesters.
KIM Da-mi, Arirang News.
