Protesters gather into the night against an unpopular extradition bill in Hong Kong. Photos / AP
Protesters gather into the night against an unpopular extradition bill in Hong Kong. Photos / AP
Protesters filled Hong Kong's streets again, cramming subway stations and turning roads into a sea of black.
It was another massive hours-long demonstration against their Government's handling of a proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China - even after the city's leader said she would suspend the bill.
Organisers estimated the turnout at nearly two million participants, in a territory of some 7.4 million - underscoring the growing rupture between Hong Kong's Government, heavily influenced by Beijing authorities, and its people.
The march capped a dramatic week of protests in varying numbers across the global financial hub. Demonstrators forced police to open six-lane roads and took over streets that were not authorised for their rally.
The massive outpouring delivered yet another embarrassment for Hong Kong's chief executive, who finds herself increasingly isolated in the city despite her efforts to contain the growing anger.
Chief executive Carrie Lam had said on Saturday that she would suspend debate on the bill in an effort to "restore calm and peace" to Hong Kong. After protests swelled, she apologised to the people of Hong Kong for "deficiencies in the Government's work" and promised to "adopt a most sincere and humble attitude to accept criticisms and make improvements."
But she has stopped short of withdrawing the bill altogether. She has insisted the proposal - which would allow fugitives to be extradited to countries without a formal treaty with Hong Kong, including mainland China - is "laudable."
Lam's decision to back off the measure for now did not placate the hundreds of thousands who showed up in a march that stretched more than 5km in either direction from its planned starting point. Many expressed deep dissatisfaction for the way Lam has handled the bill and responded to the opposition.
A 27-year-old woman in the crowd said the suspension of the bill has "changed nothing."
"She is so evil," said Sabrina, who gave only her first name for fear of retaliation. She teared up as she spoke about Lam. "She hasn't heard anything from us."
Protesters light candles as they continue a protest near the Legislative Council.
Today's crowd, no less fired up than in previous demonstrations, included the elderly, people with disabilities, children with their families, business executives, social workers and students, all demanding the permanent withdrawal of the extradition bill. The protesters, who waited for hours under a blazing sun to begin their march, sporadically chanted for Lam to step down and for Hong Kong to "add oil" - a Cantonese cheer that means "keep going." Banners called for Hong Kong's independence.
At one point, members of the crowd started singing Do You Hear the People Sing?, the call to action from the musical Les Miserables.
Protesters packed major roads across the city - a thronging mass shuffling slowly towards government buildings that protesters had occupied last Wednesday, prompting violent clashes with police that day.
Police presence around these roads and buildings was light in comparison to previous days, but the chief executive's residence was heavily guarded.
By evening local time, protesters had taken over Harcourt Road - the main road around he complex that houses Hong Kong's legislature. The road had been left open by authorities, but has now been closed to traffic.
Demonstrators held up signs calling for the Government to withdraw charges against protesters arrested in Wednesday's clashes and for "those who open fire to be held accountable" - a reference to what many perceived as police brutality in response to those demonstrations. Police fired 150 canisters of tear gas within a short period that afternoon, along with rubber bullets, bean bag rounds and other projectiles to clear protesters.
Disorder? Hardly. Watch how today's nearly two million Hong Kong protesters politely make way for an ambulance. https://t.co/jUyZAN17JJ
"People are really angry about the police brutality, and the response of the Government," said Nathan Law, founder of the pro-democracy Demosistō.
One protester died on Saturday after falling from a building on which he had draped a long banner saying "no extradition to China" and "total withdrawal of the extradition bill," among other demands.
It is unclear how exactly he fell. But his death further galvanised demonstrators. Some waited hours to leave flowers at the site of his death, where the smell of incense wafted. A painter in the crowd painted a portrait of the man, who was dressed in a yellow raincoat when he fell. One sign read: "You will be the last. No more."
"It is important for us to remember how people have sacrificed themselves for this," said Cindy, a 22-year-old protester who similarly only wanted her first name used, as she waited in a snaking line to lay down a single white carnation. "We are here because we love this place, and want to do what we can."
The extradition plans were first floated after a gruesome murder in Taiwan, where officials say a pregnant woman was brutally killed by a Hong Kong resident who later admitted to the crime. Without an extradition treaty, prosecutors could not send him to Taiwan for trial, but also couldn't charge him with murder in Hong Kong. He is in jail on a lesser crime.
Yet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen has not pushed for the murder suspect to be sent to Taiwan, and instead has spoken up against the extradition bill, saying last Thursday she would not become a "culprit to an evil law." Taiwan has also said it will not be involved in any extradition proposals that implies it is part of mainland China.
The protesters included Kai Chieh Hsu, a 29-year-old Taiwanese man who flew to Hong Kong to join the demonstrations. He said he was there in solidarity and didn't want his own country cited as a reason for a new extradition law.
"Taiwan and Hong Kong, we are both bullied by" China, said Hsu, He said the murder case cited by Lam is terrible justification for the bill. "I'm really angry that Taiwan is being blamed for this."
Many in Taiwan have supported Hong Kong residents and expressed admiration for their fight. On Sunday afternoon, a group of Hong Kong students in Taipei organised a rally to support the protesters in their home city.
Last Thursday, some of the Hong Kong students met with Tsai's secretary general, Chen Chu. Among other things, they asked Taiwan to establish protections for political refugees from Hong Kong and Macau. In April, Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee fled to Taiwan, citing a fear of being extradited to China. Taiwan does not have a formal refugee law and has maintained it will decide the status of dissidents on a case-by-case basis.
In Taipei, the Hong Kong protests are raising awareness of the potential effects of China's influence. The extradition law has led people to "care more about the situation," said Hong Kong student Katy Cheng, who has lived in Taiwan for three years. "They don't want to be the next Hong Kong."
