Article content continued

Photo by Darren Makowichuk / DARREN MAKOWICHUK/Postmedia

“Many people across the world are compassionate and understand the struggle of Hong Kong to fight for democracy — something that is worth fighting for. We are trying to do that in the Canadian cities.”

Tang said he expected counter-protesters to attend the rally but not in such large numbers. However, he said it’s a positive sign and exactly what the purpose of democracy is.

During the late-afternoon demonstration, a clear division was seen between the two groups.

On one side, all-age supporters of the Hong Kong protesters held signs saying “Democracy for Hong Kong,” “Save our Hong Kong” and “No China Extradition” while cheering “free Hong Kong” in English and Cantonese.

Meanwhile, pro-Beijing protesters, mostly youth, waved dozens of Chinese flags while chanting “Stop Lying” and “We are Chinese, who are you” in English and Mandarin. Many of them held signs that said “Hong Kong is part of China forever.”

In contention with Tang, pro-China demonstrator Sarah Zhang said Hong Kong protesters are unfairly representing the reality of China-Hong Kong relations.

“For me, it’s really important that I come here and raise my voice because I feel like a lot of our voices are being drowned out by voices that aren’t true or they’re one-sided,” she said.

“I’m talking about the protesters. By all means, everybody has a right to protest. It is a free country, but I do think that they are blinding the media. It is very one-sided, so I think it’s important for us to come out and show that there are two sides to the story.”