Hong Kong, one million people take to the streets against extradition to China
Rights — di Andrea Barolini
Major protest marches in Hong Kong against a bill providing for extradition to China. There are fears for opponents of Beijing.
Hong Kong, one million people take to the streets against extradition to China
Major protest marches in Hong Kong against a bill providing for extradition to China. There are fears for opponents of Beijing.
Hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps one million, took to the streets in Hong Kong on Sunday 9 June. It was one of the most significant demonstrations since 1997, when sovereignty over the city was transferred from the United Kingdom to China, of which it became a special administrative region.
Seven hours of peaceful marches in Hong Kong, then clashes with police
The protest was organised in opposition to a proposal by the local government, which seeks to authorise extraditions to China. Demonstrators marched peacefully through the streets of the main island for seven hours. Towards midnight, however, clashes with police were reported, according to the AFP news agency.
Despite a dispute over figures with the authorities – who put the number of participants at no more than 240,000 – it was a protest comparable to the one held in 2003, when half a million people took to the streets against a national security law. Earlier, in 1989, when Hong Kong was still under British rule, the financial hub had seen one and a half million citizens march in support of the Tiananmen Square protests.
Lawyers and judges against the new legislation, but the government is not backing down for now
According to its critics, the extradition law would in effect make Hong Kong's residents subject to the Chinese judicial system, which is considered too politicised. There are fears above all for those who have openly voiced criticism of the Beijing government in the past.
Some Hong Kong lawyers and judges, speaking anonymously, have also decided to come out against the proposal, calling for it to be revised. According to the executive of the semi-autonomous region, however, the law would fill a regulatory gap and would be needed in particular to extradite to Taiwan a Hong Kong citizen wanted for murder.
Hong Kong: il governo va avanti con la legge sull'estradizione bit.ly/2K5rCDr
The text will come before the Legislative Council for its second reading on Wednesday 12 June. It could be published in the local equivalent of the official gazette before the end of July — unless the demonstrations convince Carrie Lam, who has headed the Hong Kong executive since 2017, to change course at the last moment.