Hong Kong Protesters March For Democracy

Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Hong Kong, demanding their Beijing-backed leader's resignation and calling for democratic changes.

The march, which took place in torrential rain and strong winds, marks 16 years since Britain handed control of Hong Kong back to the Chinese.

Protesters vented their dissatisfaction with Leung Chun-ying, whose administration has been plagued by controversy.

Mr Leung was not elected, instead picked by a large committee of mostly pro-Beijing and pro-business elites.

Many in Hong Kong believe he is allowing Beijing to meddle in their affairs.

The government has promised to let residents pick their own leader, known as the chief executive, no earlier than 2017 and the entire legislature by 2020.

But protesters, some of whom marched with Hong Kong's colonial-era flag, are frustrated at lack of progress on the plans and many believe the promise may never be honoured.

"The right to elect a chief executive is a basic political right, which we have been denied for many years," said pro-democracy politician Albert Ho.

"We can't afford to wait any longer. The social conflict is now deepening. We have to resolve this conflict by having full universal suffrage to realise democracy."

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China and has greater political and legal freedoms than the rest of the country.

The protests come against a backdrop of attacks on the Apple Daily, a popular Hong Kong newspaper.

Executives of the anti-China, pro-democracy stance, said tens of thousands of copies of the newspaper had been torched in recent days by masked men.

The home of the paper's owner, Jimmy Lai, was also rammed by a car - with a machete, an axe and a threatening message left in the driveway. Lai's group is offering a £84,000 reward to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Monday's protest came after a survey published by the Hong Kong University found that only 33% of Hong Kongers took pride in being a Chinese national, the lowest level since 1998.

Organisers of the march, which went from Victoria Park to the city's central business district, were expecting 100,000 to take part.

However, it is thought the wet weather may have deterred some people. There were a few scuffles with police but no major trouble was reported.

A smaller event, celebrating Hong Kong's 1997 return to Chinese rule also took place.

Several hundred people, including Leung Chun-ying watched the hoisting of the Chinese and Hong Kong flags and a variety show along with invited guests.