Teargas fired at protesters in Hong Kong

HONG KONG police launched teargas at protesters yesterday, as a massive pro-democracy march continued late into the evening.

The action was the latest confrontation between police and demonstrators, who have taken to the streets to protest against an extradition bill and call for electoral reforms in the Chinese territory.

The march reached its police-designated end point in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district in the late afternoon, but thousands continued, at various points occupying key government and business districts. They then headed for the Liaison Office, which represents China’s Communist Party-led central government within the city.

Protesters threw eggs at the building and spray-painted surrounding surveillance cameras. China’s national emblem, which adorns the front of the Liaison Office, was splattered with black ink.

Later, police threw teargas canisters at

protesters to try to disperse them.

Organisers said 430,000 people participated in the march, while police said there were 138,000 during the procession’s “peak period”.

Large protests began early last month in Hong Kong in opposition to a contentious extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to stand trial in mainland China, where critics say their rights would be compromised.

Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has declared the bill dead, but protesters are dissatisfied with her refusal to formally withdraw the legislation. Some are also calling for her to resign amid growing concerns about the erosion of civil rights in the city.

A former British colony, Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 and promised certain democratic freedoms under the framework of “one country, two systems.”