The 1st July March has become a Hong Kong tradition since that first one in 2003, as a popular way to voice dissatisfaction with the government. For a while this year I wasn’t sure I wanted to participate because it wasn’t clear what the focus was. Then in the past 2 weeks it became clear that it would focus on demanding for universal suffrage, something I can clearly identify with. My daughters, like many HongKongers, doubted the usefulness of the march, since the government was not likely to give us universal suffrage anytime soon, if ever. My response is that I should do something if I believe in it strongly enough, even if it seems impossible. If enough people work hard and long enough, the impossible will become possible. If we all wait for the impossible to become possible, they will also remain impossible. Universal suffrage will not solve all our problems, but it is better than what we have presently, and no more than what we deserve.
Eventually our two younger daughters came with me and my wife to Victoria Park before 3 PM. By then more than 2 of the 4 soccer fields were filled. It was really hot. The sun was beating down, everybody was sweating profusely - including many trendily-dressed young people. But all waited patiently, nobody complained. People with umbrellas tried to shade those standing nearby without being asked. There was a quiet camaraderie that was quite moving, and worthy of the hours of sweating and sun-baking by itself.
The first marchers started from Victoria Park at about 3:30PM. Our family started at about 4:15PM and arrived at Central about 6PM. How many people marched? The average between the numbers claimed by the organizers and the police was about 40,000. To me, marching in the crowd, it felt like a lot of people anyway
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