Hong Kong extradition protests: demonstrators vow to keep fighting proposed bill after clashes outside government HQ leave at least 72 injured

Police officers fire a tear gas during demonstrations on Wednesday
Reuters
Ella Wills12 June 2019

Hong Kong students and civil rights activists have vowed to continue protesting a proposed bill that would allow extradition to China, following a day of sit-ins, tear gas and clashes with police that left at least 72 people injured.

Violence broke out in the city over the contentious bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial.

Reuters witnesses said hundreds of riot police could be seen resting and re-grouping overnight on Wednesday while gaggles of protesters obtained fresh supplies of water, goggles and helmets.

Earlier police had fired rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray in a series of skirmishes to clear demonstrators.

Demonstrators occupy a street the night after the protest
AFP/Getty Images

The dramatic scenes came as Hong Kong delayed a legislative session on the bill after protesters surrounded the government headquarters.

The extradition bill has sparked unusually wide concerns, both locally and internationally, that the bill risks further encroachment from Chinese officials and threatens the rule of law that underpins Hong Kong's international financial status.

Protesters drag barricades to fortify their occupied area in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong
AFP/Getty Images

As of 10pm today (2pm GMT) 72 people had been hospitalised, including two in a serious condition, according to the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. Of those, 41 were later released, it added.

Protesters insisted they would continue the demonstrations.

A police offer throws tear gas during clashes with protesters
AFP/Getty Images

College student Louis Wong told the Associated Press he considered the blockade of government headquarters and the Legislative Council a success because it appeared to prevent Beijing loyalists from advancing amendments to a pair of laws that would make it easier to send suspected criminals to China.

"This is a public space and the police have no right to block us from staying here," Mr Wong said, surveying a rubbish-strewn junction in the Admiralty neighbourhood that had been blocked off by security forces after protesters broke through a police cordon and entered the government complex.

Protesters face off with police officers outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong
AFP/Getty Images

"We'll stay until the government drops this law and (Chinese President) Xi Jinping gives up on trying to turn Hong Kong into just another city in China like Beijing and Shanghai," he added.

Protesters who had massed outside the government building overnight on Tuesday began pressing against the police early on Wednesday, leading to police firing tear gas and pepper spray.

Hong Kong extradition bill protests - In pictures

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The overwhelmingly young crowd overflowed onto a major downtown road as they overturned barriers and tussled with police.

When some appeared to have breached a cordon around the building, the police launched their response.

A weekend protest of the extradition measure drew hundreds of thousands of people, and Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said in a statement early on Thursday that the peaceful rally had become a "blatant, organised riot".

At a brief news conference held as the chaos swirled outside on Wednesday afternoon, Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung said the "serious clashes" forced police to use methods including pepper spray.

Officers also were hurt, some seriously, by rocks, bottles, traffic cones, metal barricades and other items thrown by protesters.

Police spokesman Gong Weng Chun defended the use of tear gas and other nonlethal weapons, saying officers wouldn't have had to do so if they weren't facing a threat that could lead to serious injury or death.

Lo also called the demonstration a riot, which could mean long jail terms for anyone arrested.

A government statement said a scheduled 11am legislative session would be "changed to a later time."

Protesters run after police fired tear gas during the rally
AFP/Getty Images

Some businesses closed for the day, and labour strikes and class boycotts were called.

The protests by the bill's opponents are the largest since pro-democracy demonstrations closed down parts of the Asian financial centre for more than three months in 2014.

The legislative process for the bill remained unclear following the violence, which largely ended by about 5pm after police herded demonstrators across a pedestrian bridge.

Traffic in one of the busiest parts of the city remained blocked, however, and several hundred protesters seemed in no hurry to leave.

The protesters said they hoped the blockade would lead to the measure being shelved.

Under its "one country, two systems" framework, Hong Kong was supposed to be guaranteed the right to retain its own social, legal and political systems for 50 years following its handover from British rule in 1997.

However, China's Communist Party has been seen as increasingly reneging on that agreement by forcing through unpopular laws.

A vote on the legislation is scheduled on June 20.

Jeremy Hunt has appealed for calm in Hong Kong.

The Foreign Secretary said large protests on Wednesday and in recent days show "a clear sign of significant public concern" about the bill.

Mr Hunt urged the Hong Kong government "to pause and reflect on these controversial measures."

The Prime Minister has also commented on the recent protests, and said extradition rules in Hong Kong had to respect the rights and freedoms set out in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.

"We are concerned about potential effects of these proposals particularly obviously given the large number of British citizens there are in Hong Kong," Mrs May told parliament.

"But it is vital that those extradition arrangements in Hong Kong are in line with the rights and freedoms that were set down in the Sino-British joint declaration."

Agencies contributed to this report.

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