Thousands protest in Hong Kong to protest against extradition bill

Thousands of black-clad protesters in Hong Kong blocked a key road through the city centre and massed outside police headquarters to demand the total withdrawal of controversial extradition law.

The protesters also demanded the release of detained activists and apologies for police brutality.

The protest on Friday is the fourth major demonstration in the city in less than two weeks.

The scale of public anger forced chief executive Carrie Lam to publicly apologise and suspend the law she had previously promised to ram through the island’s legislature. But opposition figures fear she could take up the law again once public anger is defused.

The protests, which pose the greatest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he took power in 2012, once again forced the temporary closure of Hong Kong government offices over security concerns.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, since when it has been governed under a “one country, two systems” formula that allows freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including a much-cherished independent judiciary.

The extradition law that originally sparked the protest would have allowed authorities to send both visitors and residents for trial in China’s communist controlled courts. Critics fear that would fatally damage the country’s economy and undermine free speech and religion.

It triggered the most violent protests in decades when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds. Beijing’s squeeze sparked pro-democracy protests in 2014 that paralysed parts of the city for 79 days.