(From AFP)
Tens of thousands of protesters are due to march in Hong Kong Friday to mark the anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain to China, with pro-independence groups rallying for the first time amid fears Beijing is tightening its grip.
Tensions are high in the southern Chinese city after explosive revelations by a Hong Kong bookseller that he was detained and interrogated for months in mainland China after going missing last year.
Lam Wing-kee, 61, was one of five employees of a Hong Kong firm which published salacious titles about leading Chinese politicians and who disappeared only to resurface over the border.
His story fanned growing concerns that Beijing is increasing its influence in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, which is ruled under a “one country, two systems” deal enshrined in the July 1997 handover agreement, guaranteeing its freedoms and way of life for 50 years.
Lam will lead the annual march on Friday. Read More