Massive Anti-Occupy Central Rally in Hong Kong

Thousands of pro-government supporters gathered in Hong Kong Sunday to protest against the civil disobedience threatened by Occupy Central campaigners demanding genuine "universal suffrage".

The march was organized by the pro-establishment Alliance for Peace and Democracy and was deemed as a show of strength against the massive rally organized by anti Beijing and democracy supporters on July 1 at Victoria Park.

The police estimate that around 110,000 people took part in the rally but the University of Hong Kong public opinion program put the number between 79,000 and 88,000, roughly half of its estimate for the July 1 march.

The pro-government alliance has collected 1.5 million signatures for a petition against Occupy Central. This beats the 800,000 who voted in an unofficial referendum held in June by Occupy Central organizers, reports the South China Morning Post.

There are rumors that some people were strong-armed into attending the rally and there were offers of free lunches and other freebies. Reports say that people were ferried in from far flung places and most were speaking Mandarin rather than the local Cantonese language. There were some who were not aware what Occupy Central was, reports the Wall Street Journal.

TStarry Lee Wai-king, an executive councilor and lawmaker from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said: "The turnout shows many Hong Kong people do not want to see Occupy Central happen. [The Occupy Central] activists have gone too far," reports the South China Morning Post.

But Occupy Central campaigners were equally clear that they will not back down. Dr Chan Kin-man, an organizer of Occupy Central, said he respected the freedom of speech of the marchers. "I hope they can understand that Occupy Central will only be our last resort," he said, reports the South China Morning Post.