It will be hot - and rainy - in Hongkong Tuesday, as the territory celebrates the 17^th Anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese sovereignty. But the weather won't stop hundreds, possibly thousands, of residents from marching in support of pro-democracy reforms in the process of electing Hongkong's next leader in 2017.

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Last week, nearly 800,000 residents voted in an unofficial referendum which sought to measure how they want their next chief executive should be chosen. The number is almost one-fourth of the territory's registered voters. Beijing has declared the voting illegal and the results invalid even before the ballots were counted.

Occupy Central for Love and Peace (OCLP), which conducted the referendum and spearheads today's protest march, expect around 500,000 to march into Central. A group of university students plan to conduct an overnight sit-in in the area, despite unfavorable weather forecasts.

Police will deploy some 4,000 officers to maintain order during today's handover anniversary, with a sizeable contingent trained to respond to the planned protest march. Last week, police staged a mock protest on the grounds of the Police College at Aberdeen in a major exercise to prepare the force for possible complications during today's protests.  

Authorities plan to turn the Police College into a temporary detention area for possible troublemakers.

Business groups have reacted negatively, some fearing that the political upheaval could damage Hong Kong's reputation as an international business center.

Hongkong's Big Four accounting firms came out Friday with a dire  warning that  "...multinational corporations and investors will consider relocating their headquarters from Hong Kong or even withdrawing their businesses."

TagsHongkong, Central, OCLP