HONG KONG, Safar 19, 1434, Jan 1, 2013, SPA -- Thousands of people have marched in Hong Kong on the first day of 2013 to call for the city's Beijing-backed leader to step down over allegations he was untruthful about illegal renovations at his mansion, AP reported. Police said 17,000 people gathered at the start of the march Tuesday. Organizers said 130,000 took part. They carried banners and chanted slogans urging Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to resign. The protest comes half a year after Leung took office after being chosen by a committee of mostly pro-Beijing elites. Demonstrators are using the controversy to push for full democracy for the former British colony, which is now a semiautonomous region of China. --SPA 18:30 LOCAL TIME 15:30 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1064794