The pro-democracy crowds were huge.

Thousands of Hong Kongers carried signs reading ‘I want to vote.’

The democracy goddess was there, too.

Former chief secretary, Anson Chan. (The kindly grandmother, not the kid.)
Source, all photos: AFP, via Yahoo!

Thousands of Hong Kongers marched in the streets to explicitly demand full democracy from Red China on the ninth anniversay of the British handover to the communist giant. Two leaders, Roman Catholic Cardinal Zen and Anson Chan participated for the first time – both are historically cautious, and deeply respected, their views are seen as a bellwether. The turnout – somewhere between 19,000 and 50,000, according to various reports, was a bit smaller than earlier years, and news reports attribute that to Hong Kong’s improved economy. The communists organized their own Forced March, and insist it was bigger. I’ll bet.