Hong Kong’s government, led by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, says it has no intention of giving in to the protesters’ key demand: scrapping the proposed law that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China, among other places. Lam has argued the bill is a necessary measure to update the city’s rules for dealing with individuals facing criminal charges elsewhere.
(June 12): Protesters who have flooded downtown Hong Kong to stop the government’s proposed extradition law effectively present the city’s leaders with an ultimatum: back down, or risk violent clashes that could be worse than the Occupy movement in 2014.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the heart of the financial hub Wednesday, and some battled with riot police throughout the afternoon to prevent lawmakers from debating the bill. Overwhelmingly young, many protesters wore surgical masks to hide their identities and plastic goggles to ward off pepper spray, which police fired sporadically throughout the day, along with tear gas, rubber bullets and bean-bag rounds.
