This archive report was first published on 20 October 2019.
On Sunday, protesters in Hong Kong will gather in Tsim Sha Tsui, a crowded commercial district, and march to West Kowloon, a site of an arts district and a high-speed rail station that links the city to mainland China.
The march is a test of the movement's strength after a police ban on the event and attacks on its promoters. The Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer of large peaceful marches this summer, applied to host the event but was denied by the police.
After the denial, the Civil Human Rights Front backed out of hosting the march, but one of its leaders, Figo Chan, and other pro-democracy figures called on people to turn out anyway. Mr. Chan said, "It is time for Hong Kong people to speak out. When we can gather enough people, we will be safe and we will be able to exert pressure to the government."
On Saturday evening, a 19-year-old man distributing fliers to call on people to join the march was assaulted near a subway station in northern Hong Kong. He was stabbed in the neck and the abdomen, and is hospitalized in serious condition.
The protests began over legislation, since withdrawn, that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China from Hong Kong. Hong Kong's top leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, said in September that the government would withdraw the proposal, but public anger with the authorities has remained high.
The march on Sunday will reiterate protesters' other longstanding demands, including an independent investigation of the police, amnesty for arrested protesters and the introduction of direct elections for the chief executive and legislature.
