Marching for democracy in Hong Kong...

The Chinese are afraid of democracy in Hong Kong...

Thousands of protesters marked the eighth anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule on Friday, marching through the streets and demanding more democracy in one of the world's most important financial centers.

Many believe the democracy movement lost some steam last year after Beijing snuffed out hopes that Hong Kongers would soon be allowed to directly elect their leader and entire legislature.

The protesters streamed into Victoria Park to "vote" in a mock referendum on whether Hong Kong should have full democracy. Organizers said 8,400 cast ballots, which would be tallied soon.

Protester Cheung Cheuk-wei declared, "I'm here to fight for democracy. I want to tell the government we have this demand."

I lived in Hong Kong for two years, and was there for the handover to China. That night, I went to a gay bar to celebrate...and everybody was handed a small PRC flag on the way in. At midnight, the only people waving the flag were the foreigners....