Hundreds of thousands turn out for peaceful HK protest

Hong Kong streets were turned into rivers of umbrellas on Sunday as hundreds of thousands of people marched through heavy rain down a major road in the Chinese territory, where massive pro-democracy demonstrations have become a regular weekend activity.

Organisers said at least 1.7 million participated. The assembly was peaceful, with no reports of violence, making for a rare calm weekend in a protest movement that has been marked by violent clashes with police.

Law enforcement officers kept a low profile, with no riot police seen from the procession's main routes. When stragglers convened outside a government complex in the late evening, other protesters urged them to go home.

"We hope that there will not be any chaotic situations today," organiser Bonnie Leung said earlier in the day.

"We hope we can show the world that Hong Kong people can be totally peaceful."
You called the lawmakers' comments "a gross violation of the spirit of the rule of law, a blatant double standard and a gross interference in China's internal affairs."
He said that Hong Kong's 7.5 million people and the Chinese population as a whole rejected the actions of a "very small group of violent protesters" as well as "any interference of foreign forces."
"We will stand here, we will take action until they respond to us," she said. "In the rain, our spirit becomes stronger."