Marching in Place

The demonstration this week in Hong Kong by tens of thousands of citizens marking the sixth anniversary of reversion to Chinese rule is aimed at the imminent enactment of the anti-subversion law Article 23. Yet concern over that dubious piece of legislation only partially explains the mass gathering at Victoria Park and subsequent protest march to the city's Central Government Offices. Hong Kong's normally apolitical masses are also deeply frustrated over their sliding economic fortunes and civil liberties since Beijing appointed unpopular Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa to baby-sit Hong Kong.

It comes as no surprise that the relationship...