A professional survey estimates the number of participants in the April 11 procession organised by the Civil Human Rights Front to be about 7,600.

The Government commissioned the survey from a professional research organisation as the Central Policy Unit felt it was a more accurate way to gauge the number of citizens expressing their views on major issues at such rallies. Police figures were purely internal estimates for crowd control purposes.

The procession set off from Chater Garden and ended at the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Western.

The organisation set up two survey stations at the Hang Seng Bank Headquarters Building flyover on Des Voeux Road Central and the flyover on Connaught Road West.

An average figure was then calculated and an estimated number of participants during a specified period arrived at.

The average maximum at the Hang Seng Bank flyover and the Connaught Road flyover was 7,492 and 7,762 respectively, bringing the estimated average to 7,627.

The Government will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to commission a professional research organisation to conduct such surveys on public processions in future.