Hong Kong Braces for Democracy March

[Khephra]

HONG KONG -- Thousands of Hong Kong residents prepared to march for democracy Thursday, hoping for the unlikely prospect that Beijing rethinks its recent ruling that locals cannot directly elect the successor to the territory's highly unpopular leader.

The rally comes one year after 500,000 people turned out for an anti-government protest that stunned Hong Kong and Beijing -- launching a "people power" movement that alarmed the central government and prompted it to clamp down on local hopes for full democracy.

Hundreds of thousands were expected to march again Thursday, stealing the stage from official events, including a flag-raising, that will mark the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's return from Britain to China.

Hoping to blunt the impact of the rally, Beijing has made a number of conciliatory gestures in recent weeks, holding out the possibility that it will allow visits to the mainland by pro-democracy lawmakers who have been barred for years or even branded as "traitors."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-hong-kong-china,0,323566.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines