Hong Kong Marks Handover Anniversary

HONG KONG -- Hong Kongers marked a decade of Chinese rule on Sunday with a colorful parade and a mass street protest to call for progress on democratic reform.

Several thousand pro-democracy protesters streamed through the city as they marched to the government's downtown headquarters from Victoria Park, one of the few remaining vestiges of British colonialism since the Chinese took control on July 1, 1997.

Under the handover agreement negotiated by Britain and China in 1984, Hong Kongers are entitled to eventually elect their leader and legislature, although the document is vague on when that is supposed to happen.

Police put the number of protesters at about 20,000, slightly below last year's turnout. Organizers said 68,000 people had turned out.

Many joined the march as it snaked through residential and business districts, waving banners calling for universal suffrage, cleaner skies and an improvement in social welfare.

"We can all see that there hasn't been any democratic progress in the past 10 years," Anson Chan, the former No. 2 in the government told The Associated Press.

Earlier in the day, Chinese and Hong Kong leaders praised the territory for bouncing back from a turbulent decade of financial, health and political crises, but warned that the next 10 years would pose equally tough challenges from Asian cities threatening to eclipse it as a global business capital.

"The competition ahead is fierce. We are not only competing with neighboring cities, but with cities around the world," said Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang, a bow tie-wearing veteran civil servant who was sworn in Sunday for a second term.

At the start of the day, a few hundred people stood near Hong Kong's harbor to watch as the Chinese and Hong Kong flags were hoisted into a cloudy blue sky. A band played China's national anthem and the crowd cheered when four helicopters pulling the two flags flew overhead, leaving a stream of red smoke.

Hours later, thousands poured onto the streets, waving flags, while about 20 Chinese paratroopers dropped out of the sky.

Chinese patriotism has been a key theme of the anniversary celebrations, which were to be capped with a spectacular firework display Sunday night spelling out the words "Chinese people."

"The last 10 years have been OK. What we really need to do is look forward now. Hong Kong people must be optimistic," said spectator Ken Chen, who works in property management.