More than 500 protesters demanding democratic elections free of China’s influence were arrested in Hong Kong during a peaceful sit-in in the city’s business district.

The sit-in followed a pro-democracy rally of a half a million Hong Kongers on July 1, the anniversary of the handover of former British colony Hong Kong to China in 1997. China has promised Hong Kong a direct vote for the next chief executive in 2017, but insists that a committee approve the candidates. Fearing that China could manipulate the committee to only choose pro-Beijing candidates, protesters demanded that citizens be allowed to nominate the candidates.

July 1 has become a day of protest for universal suffrage, democracy and autonomy from China. The scale of this march was similar to the July 1 rally back in 2003 when the Hong Kong government attempted to pass a set of national security laws that would criminalize seditious speech. The 2003 rally eventually forced the government to withdraw the legislation.

Read more: globalvoicesonline.org Written by Oiwan Lam