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Tens of thousands of people yesterday gave the government the thumbs-down on its decision to award two instead of three free-to-air TV licenses.self storage Estimates of the turnout ranged from the police's peak estimate of 36,000 to the 120,000 claimed by netizens, though it was apparent from the groups gathered outside government headquarters that the right figure was somewhere in between. In addition, there were about 2,000 members and supporters of the Hong Kong Television Network Staff Union. The protesters accused the government of operating within a black box and called for a full explanation of why it rejected the application of HKTV and gave licenses to two TV stations backed by big business. HKTV chief director So Man-chung, who spoke after marchers reached the government headquarters in the evening, said the HKTV drama Police Boundaries will be played on a big screen at Tamar starting from 8pm today. The first episode, uploaded onto YouTube, was viewed more than 700,000 times. "We will not leave if the government doesn't explain," So said, indicating that 50 to 60 members are prepared to stage a sit-in overnight. "If they don't let us start our TV station, we will start our own right here." Some protesters also proposed surrounding the other two free stations and called on the Legislative Council to invoke the Powers and Privileges Ordinance to probe the Executive Council's decision. Last Tuesday, the Chief Executive- in-Council rejected an application by HKTV chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay for a free-to-air TV license while accepting those from i-Cable's Fantastic Television and PCCW's Hong Kong Television Ente迷利倉tainment. The demonstrators set out from two locations yesterday. From Central, more than 2,000 people, including HKTV employees and supporters, marched to government headquarters to occupy the center stage as tens of thousands of others, responding to a Facebook appeal, left from Causeway Bay. The space outside the headquarters was filled with people, mostly wearing black T-shirts, forcing police to close two traffic lanes outside Tamar to accommodate crowds from Causeway Bay. Placards saying "No to Black Box operation" and "Refuse Black Box politics" were waved. Individuals carried placards saying "Shut Down ATV, Give the license to Wong." HKTV staff union chairman Yeung Chi-ho said the government must explain its decision. "We don't know the cause of death [of Wong's license application]. This is a matter for the people of Hong Kong. "The government must be held accountable." Wong, who did not show up at the protest, issued a statement saying he was moved by the sight of 120,000 people turning out. "People were marching in the streets not only over the choice of TV shows, but also over whether Hong Kong's leader is respecting the demands of Hongkongers. "We have to uphold Hong Kong's justice and the rule of law." The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau issued a statement stressing the move to issue only two licenses was not a political decision. "We have also considered whether issuing three licenses would benefit market development and decided to hand out the licenses in a step-by-step manner," it said. "Since legal proceedings are now involved, it is inappropriate to disclose further details." 自存倉