Hong Kong Protesters File Past Chinese Army’s Headquarters, Peacefully – The New York Times

HONG KONG — Assailed for days by China’s propaganda machine as violent thugs who must be stopped, protesters in Hong Kong paraded past the headquarters of China’s military garrison on Saturday, chanting support for a movement that Beijing views as subversive.

The protest march, billed by organizers as a “family-friendly” event, drew several thousand people, including parents and children with balloons, and avoided incendiary slogans about “retaking Hong Kong” that have angered China’s ruling Communist Party.

“Xi Jinping should come and take a look at us here, now, and then say whether we are hooligans,” said Ina Wong, a 34-year-old designer, referring to China’s hard-line leader. Ms. Wong took part in the rally along with her husband, a civil servant, and their 2-year-old son.

The march near Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong’s Central District — held a day after protesters began a three-day sit-in, also so far peaceful, at the city’s international airport — was the first in a series of protests scheduled for Saturday, and it was designed to quell fears that the city is spiraling into chaos after weeks of unrest. At least one of the demonstrations expected later in the day, unlike the one in Central, has not been authorized by the police.