HONG KONG, July 1 (Kyodo) - Thousands of people in Hong Kong protested against Beijing-appointed Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and his policies Sunday as the territory marked the fourth anniversary of its return to Chinese rule amid strong winds and rain caused by typhoon Durian.
About 500 pro-democracy protesters from over 40 political, social and religious groups demanded the Hong Kong chief executive seek direct election rather than rely on the existing ''small-circle'' selection system.
The protesters braved the downpour to march to the government headquarters in downtown Central from Victoria Park in the shopping district of Causeway Bay.
''Our march is to show our determination that we want to have 'one man, one vote' for the chief executive. If we really want government policies to be more in line with the wishes of the public, the election of the chief executive is very important. He must be elected by the people themselves,'' said protest organizer Lee Cheuk-yan, who is also a lawmaker.
The demonstrators criticized the existing system of selecting the chief executive as ''undemocratic'' and ''unacceptable'' in any free and open society.
Under the Basic Law, Hong Kong's post-handover constitution, the chief executive is chosen by an 800-member local committee and officially appointed by Beijing.
Tung's current term of office ends next year and he has yet to announce whether he will seek reelection.
It is widely believed Tung will be backed by the Chinese leadership to stay on for another five-year term despite his unpopularity in the territory.
A survey by the University of Hong Kong's Public Opinion Program, released Friday, showed only about one-third of respondents were satisfied with Tung's administration.
Earlier Sunday, a radical pro-democracy group scuffled with police in a separate protest calling for Tung to step down and seek direct election as the government held a flag-raising ceremony at the waterfront in Wanchai district.
About a dozen members of the April Fifth Action Group were blocked by the police from getting near to the venue, where about several hundred officials, guests and local citizens had gathered.
Separately, about 4,000 indigenous residents of the New Territories protested against the government's plan to allow nonindigenous people to become village heads.
Their demonstration came after Tung's administration proposed villages vote for two heads, one indigenous and one nonindigenous, following a top court ruling that gave nonindigenous residents the right to stand in village elections.
Meanwhile, some 40 representatives of local organizations campaigning for the poor petitioned the government to take measures to relieve poverty.
Like last year, the Hong Kong government adopted a low-profile approach to celebrations of the handover anniversary, holding a flag-raising ceremony in the morning and scheduling a community concert for the evening.
No Chinese leaders from Beijing visited Hong Kong for the events.
AP-NY-07-01-01 0808EDT
Copyright 2001 The Kyodo News Service.