‘Extradition bill fury to fuel numbers at HK rally’
HONG KONG (Reuters) — Hong Kong is gearing up for an annual prodemocracy march today, the anniversary of its handover to Beijing, that could draw large crowds amid widespread anger over an extradition bill that has already seen millions take to the streets.
In recent years, the anniversary of the handover of the former British colony in 1997 has been marked by deepening despondency about what many residents see as increasing meddling by the mainland and the erosion of freedoms.
Beijing denies interfering but for many Hong Kong residents a proposed extradition law, that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial, is the latest step in a relentless march toward mainland control.
Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, writing in his blog yesterday, appealed for calm ahead today’s rally and said the government has learned from its mistakes.
“It is imperative to restore social order and tranquility as soon as possible, stabilize the business environment and bring Hong Kong back on track,” he said.
Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, who has apologized for the upheaval, has not been seen in public since June 18.
The turmoil comes at a delicate time for Beijing, which is already grappling with a trade war with Washington, a faltering economy and tensions in the South China Sea.
“If Hong Kong is no longer an international city, Hong Kong will perish,” former opposition lawmaker Margaret Ng said at a rally late on Friday.
“It’s our responsibility to let the world know.”
Lam, who is backed by Beijing, promoted and then suspended the extradition bill after some of the biggest and most violent protests in the city in decades against it.
While Lam, in her decision to suspend the bill, said she had heard the people “loud and clear,” she stopped short of activists’ demands to scrap it and rejected calls to step down.
Activists are also demanding the government drop all charges against those arrested during the latest protests, charge police with what they describe as excessive use of force and stop referring to the demonstrations as a riot, a term than can bring a heavier jail sentence.