Hong Kong demonstrations protest Communist rule.

One year after massive demonstrations forced Beijing to back down on imposing harsh "anti-subversion" legislation, Hong Kong demonstrators again took to the streets on July 1 to protest Beijing's heavy-handed rule. Despite sweltering temperatures hovering near 100 degrees, stifling humidity, no breeze and heavy air pollution, an estimated 350,000 people turned out to demonstrate their opposition to Communist China's attempts to impose oppressive measures on the island's nearly 7 million people.

Following last year's even larger protests, which went on for days, the island's chief executive, Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, a Beijing

puppet, backed off from enforcing the program dictated by the mainland Communist regime. Encouraged by their success, the people demanded free elections and scored a major victory over the pro-Beijing parties, which had been favored with a voting formula guaranteeing a Legislative Council majority toeing the PRC's party line. But the Communist oligarchs who run the People's Republic of China are not interested in the will of "the people." They called Mr. Tung to Beijing to remind him who is boss. Then they announced that they could veto any legislation passed by the Legislative Council (the island's parliament) and that universal suffrage would not be allowed for either the election of the next chief executive in 2007 or the Legislative Council in 2008. Since the former British colony was handed over to the PRC in 1997, friction between Beijing and Hong Kong has been growing. At the time of the Communist takeover, to quell concerns of the international community and minimize the flight of capital from the wealthy is land economy, Hong Kong was promised that it would retain considerable autonomy for the next 50 years. But on the seventh anniversary of the transfer, Hong Kong residents already see alarming inroads being made against their freedom and independence. On May 1 of this year--May Day, the most important date on the Communist calendar--the PRC sent a naval task force to Hong Kong's harbor. It was the largest show of force to date: two submarines, two guided missile destroyers and four frigates. Beijing's intent is clear; it intends to intimidate Hong Kong into submission.