The 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests
Various protests have been launched in Hong Kong by the general public and legal communities. Among these, the 9 June protest organised by the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), which the organization estimates was attended by 1.03 million people, has gained wide mass media coverage.
The 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests are a series of demonstrations in Hong Kong which began with the aim of withdrawing an extradition bill proposed by the Hong Kong government. If enacted, the bill would allow local authorities to detain and extradite people who are wanted in territories that Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements with, including mainland China and Taiwan. Some fear the bill would place the Hong Kong people and visitors under mainland Chinese jurisdiction, undermining the autonomy of the region and citizens' rights.
The demands of protesters have since evolved beyond their original goal.
Demonstrations against the bill began in March and April, then escalated in June.Hundreds of thousands of people marched in a protest against the bill on 9 June. Protests on 12 June, the day the bill was scheduled for a second reading in the Legislative Council, marked a sharp escalation in violence. Riot police deployed tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators. Subsequently, investigations into police behaviour and greater accountability for their actions became part of protester demands.
A larger march occurred on 16 June.
On 1 July, hundreds of thousands of people participated in the annual July march.
A portion of these demonstrators split from the march and broke into the Legislative Council Complex, vandalising central government symbols.
Protests have continued throughout the summer, escalating into increasingly violent confrontations, between police, activists, pro-Beijing triad members, and local residents in over 20 different neighbourhoods throughout the region.
21 July marked the Yuen Long mob attacks against protesters and bystanders.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam suspended the extradition bill on 15 June,declaring it "dead" on 9 July, but stopped short of a full withdrawal. Executive Council members Regina Ip and Bernard Charnwut Chan said that the government does not intend to make further concessions.
As demonstrations continued, protesters have added additional demands, calling for an independent inquiry on police brutality, the release of arrested protesters, a retraction of the official characterisation of the protests as "riots", and direct elections to choose Legislative Council members and the Chief Executive
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