July 1 (Bloomberg) -- Tens of thousands of people marched through Hong Kong in an annual rally for greater democracy on the 11th anniversary of the city's return to Chinese rule.

The placard-waving protesters made their way peacefully from Victoria Park to the government headquarters in the central business district, about 4 kilometers (2½ miles) away. Police spokesman Chau Yau-fai said about 15,500 took part at the peak of the march, while organizers said they were 47,000.

The protesters are pressing for an acceleration of the transition to full democracy in a city whose leaders are selected by an 800-member committee dominated by Beijing supporters. Half of Hong Kong's 60 lawmakers are directly elected.

``Democracy, one-man-one-vote, is the fairest open system, adopted by half of the world,'' said Allen Lee, a former member of China's legislature, the National People's Congress, and now a political commentator. ``A lot of people say Hong Kong isn't ready; Hong Kong doesn't understand democracy. We saw Nepal gave up its power to the people -- is Nepal ready for democracy and Hong Kong is behind Nepal? It's unacceptable.''

China said in December that Hong Kong's citizens may directly elect the city's leaders by 2017 and it will probably allow elections for the full legislature by 2020.

The Hong Kong government said in a statement posted on its Web site today that it had already made ``substantive progress'' in moving toward democracy. The administration will decide in the fourth quarter when to consult the public on the chief executive and electoral methods for 2012.

Next Generation

``I am here to fight for democracy,'' said Ocean Cheung, a 50-year-old housewife who marched with her three teenage children. ``Without the rights to choose our own leader, no-one would listen to us. This is what's happening now -- our voices are ignored.''

Kwok Piu, a retired bus driver, said he marched today to ensure democracy was in place for the next generation.

``I am 79 years old and still I don't have the freedom and the human rights I want,'' Kwok said. ``Only with democracy, could I hold the government accountable for its mistakes.''

While last year's rally attracted as many as 68,000 people, this year has seen a boost in patriotism in Hong Kong because of the earthquake that struck China in May and the run-up to next month's Olympic Games.

``Hong Kong people's support for the Chinese government has increased because they were happy with they way it handled the earthquake,'' James Sung, a political scientist at City University of Hong Kong, said in a phone interview. ``They are also proud of their country because of the Olympics and this has eased discontent about the government.''

Anti-Subversion Law

A record 50 percent of respondents in a Hong Kong University survey released yesterday said they were proud to be Chinese citizens. That compared with 1997's 46.6 percent.

About 500,000 people took to the streets on the anniversary of the British handover in 2003 to protest against an anti- subversion law that critics said would curtail civil liberties, prompting the government to shelve the bill. Each anniversary since then has been marked with a pro-democracy rally. In 2005, the lowest number of protesters took part, with only 20,000 demonstrating.

Anson Chan, Hong Kong's former top civil servant who is now a legislator, had urged residents to join the march to demand more accountability after the government refused to disclose the salaries of new political appointees. Chief Executive Donald Tsang has apologized over the government's handling of the case.

The earthquake that struck China's Sichuan province on May 12, the country's deadliest in 32 years, claimed 69,195 lives, while 374,177 were injured, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency. The Olympics start in Beijing next month, the first time China has hosted the Games.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephanie Wong in Hong Kong at swong139@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 1, 2008 07:23 EDT