Thousands marched in Hong Kong yesterday in protest at the World Trade Organisation summit, which is being held in the city this week.
Organisers estimated that 4,000 people turned out for the rally that marked the start of what protesters call the "People's Action Week on WTO".
Protesters from all over the world joined with local trade unions and workers groups in Victoria Park in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay for a rally and speeches ahead of the march.
Despite concerns about outbreaks of violence, the protest was peaceful with a carnival atmosphere.
Colourful signs were held aloft with anti-WTO slogans such as "people before profit" and protesters chanted "down, down the WTO" and "junk the WTO". Migrant worker groups were dressed in traditional costumes from their home countries and danced along the street banging drums.
Subsidies and tariffs affecting trade in agricultural goods are among the key issues to be addressed during the talks but also issues affecting trade in industrial goods and services as well as measures aimed at helping least-developed countries to benefit from increased global trade.
On agricultural subsidies much of the framework for a deal is in place and there are already numbers on the table for how deep the cuts should be - the European Union has offered 70 per cent and the US 60 per cent. But the devil lies in the detail and a lot of work remains to be done to make sure the offered cuts really bite.
Yesterday's march is the first of three anti-globalisation protests planned during the talks, which start tomorrow and continue until December 18 th. There was a large police presence on the streets and many shops along the protest route put their shutters down in case of vandalism.
More than 9,000 police have been deployed in Hong Kong for the duration of the talks in one of the biggest security operations ever seen in the city. Many businesses have erected mesh on their windows.
Rubbish bins have been removed and loose paving stones and sewer grates stuck down to prevent them being used as projectiles. Hospitals have been put on high alert and many schools in the area will close for the planned protests.
About 10,000 protesters are expected to converge in Hong Kong during the week including 1,500 Korean farmers and students who are considered the most likely to spark violence.
Some would-be protesters complained of problems in getting visas. Representatives from workers and farming groups in the Philippines were briefly detained last week in the airport as they were arriving in Hong Kong.
Previous WTO meetings in Seattle and Cancun were marred by violent protests and the Hong Kong authorities fear the protests this week will end in similar violence.
There have been reports that breakaway protests groups are planning violence at tomorrow's march at the opening of the talks.
Police have rated the chances of disorder as high and say there is a moderate chance of a terrorist attack, although they added that they have not received any specific threats. - (additional reporting Reuters).
