Let's cheer them on...

Anson Chang at a rally of 250,000 people in Hong Kong marching for democracy!

The most popular woman in Hong Kong joined around 250,000 people in a rally yesterday to call for full elections, putting new pressure on the government and its masters in Beijing.

Anson Chan, who was head of the civil service for four years after the 1997 handover from Britain, has been reluctant to take sides.

But she joined the rally to protest at the lack of a timetable for the introduction of the one-man, one-vote system promised in Hong Kong's constitution after the handover.

"There are moments in one's life when you have to stand up and be counted and for me this is one of those moments," she said.

"I believe democracy to be good for Hong Kong and when the time is ripe it would also be good for my country."