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PP RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHHK #2638/01 1771009
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 261009Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7468
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 002638 
 
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NOFORN 
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DEPT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM 
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/26/2031 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL HK CH
SUBJECT: ANSON CHAN JOINS WITH DEMOCRATS IN URGING PUBLIC 
TO TURN OUT FOR JULY 1 DEMOCRACY MARCH 
 
REF: HONG KONG 1819 
 
Classified By: E/P Chief Simon Schuchat. Reasons: 1.4(b,d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  On July 25, former Chief Secretary Anson 
Chan announced that she would join the July 1 pro-democracy 
march and urged Hong Kongers to turn out for the rally. 
Appearing in a joint press conference with fourteen 
democratic legislators, Chan denied that her decision to 
participate in Saturday's demonstration was linked to a 
possible Chief Executive (CE) campaign bid or that she wanted 
to play a leading role in the democracy movement.  Instead, 
she emphasized her belief that democracy was the best form of 
government for Hong Kong.  When asked about a possible run 
for CE, Chan was coy: "I want to wait and see before I decide 
on my next step, as even I don't know what will happen over 
the next few months."  Chan also urged CE Donald Tsang to 
fight for democracy and to be more inclusive of all political 
parties.  Chan's announcement was clearly intended to boost 
attendance for Saturday's demonstration; organizers hope an 
additional 20,000-30,000 people will join the march.  While 
many democrats welcomed Chan's announcement, a few were more 
suspicious of her political motivations.  End Summary. 
 
Chan's Participation in July 1 Rally to Boost Turnout 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶2. (C) On July 25, former Chief Secretary Anson Chan 
announced that she would join the July 1 pro-democracy march 
and urged Hong Kongers to turn out for the rally.  This will 
be Chan's first appearance at a July 1 march since the 
pro-democracy tradition began in 2003, but her second time 
participating in a democracy rally.  Appearing in a joint 
press conference with fourteen democratic legislators, Chan 
denied that her decision to participate in Saturday's 
demonstration was linked to a possible Chief Executive (CE) 
campaign bid or that she wanted to play a leading role in the 
democracy movement.  Instead, Chan underscored her support 
for democracy and said that her participation in Saturday's 
rally was due to her belief that "the only possible and the 
best foundation for Hong Kong is democracy and direct 
elections."  When asked about a possible run for CE, Chan 
coyly replied, "I want to wait and see before I decide on my 
next step, as even I don't know what will happen over the 
next few months."  (Comment: We were not surprised by Chan's 
announcement; media speculation that she would march has been 
widespread in recent days.  We had also heard in the past 
week from reliable sources that she planned to join the July 
1 march.  End Comment.) 
 
¶3. (C) During her press conference, Chan disclosed that she 
had phoned CE Donald Tsang on June 24 -- Tsang's first 
anniversary in office -- to inform him of her decision to 
join the July 1 march.  She did not reveal Tsang's reaction 
to her call.  She added that she hoped Tsang would not take 
her action as confrontational.  Chan told reporters that she 
did not want to comment on Tsang's performance, then pointed 
out several areas for improvement.  Chan urged Tsang to be 
more inclusive of all political parties "even if they have 
different views;" a clear criticism of Tsang's "core 
partnership" with the pro-Beijing party, the Democratic 
Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) 
(see reftel).  Pan-democrats, said Chan, also needed to 
improve their cooperation with the Government.  Chan also hit 
out at the Commission on Strategic Development, a Government 
advisory body authorized by Tsang to look into the issue of 
political reform.  She pressed the Commission to put forward 
more concrete recommendations on promoting universal 
suffrage.  And finally, Chan said, "Mr. Tsang should show 
more effort and courage to fight for democracy." 
 
Government Takes Low Key Approach 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) A government spokesperson told the press that the 
development of democracy was the common goal of the Hong Kong 
and Central Governments and the community at large. 
Financial Secretary Henry Tang was quoted as saying that he 
respected Chan's decision and added that people had the 
freedom of speech and expression. 
 
Democrats Torn Between Joy and Suspicion 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The joint announcement by Chan and democratic 
legislators was clearly intended to boost attendance for 
Saturday's demonstration.  With last year's attendance 
 
HONG KONG 00002638  002 OF 002 
 
 
estimated between 17,000 and 21,000, Chan's participation 
might encourage an additional 20,000-30,000 people to join 
the demonstration, said rally organizers.  Democratic 
legislator Lee Cheuk-yan told poloff on June 26 that the 
democrats were happy about Chan's announcement, especially if 
it boosted interest and participation in the July 1 
demonstration.  The one week lead-time of Chan's announcement 
and the actual march should allow organizers sufficient time 
to capitalize on Chan's participation and help mobilize 
supporters.  Former Chairman of the Democratic Party Martin 
Lee told the press conference that he welcomed Chan's 
participation in the demonstration.  "Two years ago, nobody 
could have expected that Donald Tsang would become our Chief 
Executive.  Likewise, a year ago, I would have not have 
expected that Mrs. Chan would join this press conference.  I 
hope that a year later, Donald will also sit here with us to 
strive for Hong Kong's full democracy." 
 
¶6. (SBU) Chan's announcement was not welcomed by all 
democrats, however.  Several democrats who did not 
participate in the June 25 press conference expressed concern 
about Chan's motives.  Independent democratic legislators 
Albert Chan and Frederick Fung reportedly said that they had 
reservations about cooperating with Chan in promoting the 
July 1 rally as it might distort the meaning of the democracy 
march, since the media attention might be focused on whether 
she might join the CE race.  Another independent democratic 
legislator, Albert Cheng, said that there was no need for the 
democrats to "deify" Chan or turn the democracy movement into 
an anti-Donald Tsang campaign. 
 
¶7. (C) On June 26, Chinese University of Hong Kong Professor 
Timothy Wong speculated to poloff that Chan's high profile 
decision to participate in the July 1 march was not merely 
just a reflection of her democratic aspirations, but also had 
a political element to it.  There might be behind the scenes 
maneuverings regarding Chan's decision to run for CE and her 
participation in the July 1 march and criticisms of Donald 
Tsang might be part of a broader scheme, said Wong.  While 
 
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the democrats will certainly benefit from Chan's 
participation in Saturday's march, Chan will probably also 
benefit from the exposure, said Wong. 
Cunningham