HONG KONG: - Thousands of pro-democracy supporters took to the streets of Chinese-controlled Hong Kong on Sunday to protest against what they say is the Beijing-backed government's use of the courts to pursue its opponents.
Demonstrators marched through the semi-autonomous Chinese region's streets on the same day as a national holiday marking the founding of the People's Republic of China.
They carried banners calling for the rejection of "authoritarian rule" and demanded the city's Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen step down. The protesters said his request for the courts to review sentences for three pro-democracy activists, which resulted in them being sent to prison, eroded the city's rule of law.
Many protesters heeded organizers' calls for them to wear black T-shirts in a show of support for the three activists, including young protest leader Joshua Wong. The three originally received community service or suspended sentences for their role in an illegal rally that sparked massive 2014 protests, but under the new stiffer sentences handed out this summer, they got six to eight months in jail.
"We think political prosecution is becoming increasingly significant in Hong Kong," said Au Nok-hin, vice-convener of one of the organizing groups, the Civil Human Rights Front.
In a statement, the government said the justice department has been handling all cases in accordance with the law.
"No political consideration is being taken into account at all. The allegations of political prosecution or persecution are entirely unfounded," the statement said.
The protests coincided with the start Sunday of China's annual eight-day holiday, with an estimated 710 million Chinese on the move to visit families or just to take tourist trips.
The first week of October is the second-busiest travel period, after Chinese New Year, in the world's most populous nation. And this year the holiday period, which begins with Chinese National Day on Oct 1, spans eight days and includes an extra holiday, as the Mid Autumn Festival falls on Wednesday.
According to the China Daily, some Chinese began leaving last Thursday on trips to tourist destinations or back to their home towns, with 130 million passengers expected to travel by train over an 11-day period.
On Sunday, Beijing International Airport was filled with travellers heading abroad.
According to a Chinese tourism institute, the most popular foreign travel destinations this year are Asian countries such as Thailand, Japan and Singapore.