SINGAPORE - Singaporeans and foreigners gathered at Hong Lim Park on Wednesday night in a show of support for demonstrators in Hong Kong who are protesting against election restrictions.

More than 100 people had turned up by 7.45pm for a candlelight vigil. The event kicked off with the crowd spontaneously singing a Cantonese rock song that has become the unofficial anthem of the protests in Hong Kong.

Event organisers Jolovan Wham and Rachel Zeng said they wanted to show solidarity with demonstrators in Hong Kong who have taken to the streets to push for universal suffrage. The demonstrators there are against China's decision to screen candidates who will run in the Special Administrative Region's elections in future.

"We are against the diminishing of freedom," Ms Zeng, an activist, said of the candlelight vigil.

Participants lit candles, sang songs and wrote messages of support for protesters in Hong Kong on pieces of paper and placards provided by the organisers.