Hong Kong protesters force delay of extradition changes
A show of people power succeeded yesterday in delaying a debate on Hong Kong’s extradition bill.
HONG KONG: A show of people power succeeded yesterday in delaying a debate on Hong Kong’s extradition bill that would allow criminal suspects in Hong Kong to be sent for trial in mainland China.
After entry to the administrative headquarters was blocked, the government announced that debate on the bill that was due to take place in the 70-seat Legislative Council would be delayed until further notice. The parliament is controlled by a pro-Beijing majority.
Opposition to the bill has united an unusually wide cross-section of the city from influential businesses and lawyers, to religious groups, student unions and workers.
Western nations have criticised the plans and opponents in the territory are fearful the law would entangle people in the mainland’s opaque courts, leaving them vulnerable to a justice system seen as acting at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.
“We won’t leave till they scrap the law,” said one young man wearing a black mask and gloves.
“(Hong Kong chief executive) Carrie Lam has underestimated us. We won’t let her get away with this.” Ms Lam has vowed to press ahead with the legislation despite deep concerns in the Asian financial hub, including among business leaders, that it could undermine freedoms and investor confidence.
Ms Lam last night hit out at protesters, calling the clashes “organised riots” in her first comments since the demonstrations began.
“The rioting actions that damage peaceful society, ignoring law and discipline is unacceptable for any civilised societies,” chief executive Carrie Lam said.
City streets were shrouded in tear gas yesterday as the overwhelmingly young crowd overflowed onto major streets in the city’s biggest political crisis since pro-democracy demonstrations closed down parts of the Asian financial centre for more than three months in 2014.
Ms Lam cancelled a scheduled news briefing after a curt government statement announced the parliamentary session would be “changed to a later time”.
Some businesses closed for the day, and labour strikes and class boycotts were called.
The protests are a challenge to China’s ruling Communist Party and President Xi Jinping, who has in the past said he would not tolerate Hong Kong being used as a base to challenge the party’s authority. But they are also giving vent to young Hong Kongers alienated by a political process dominated by the territory’s economic elite.
Protesters said they hoped the blockade would persuade Ms Lam’s administration to shelve the proposed amendments to the extradition bill.
One protester said the demonstrations were a watershed moment for Hong Kong’s young generation, who face difficult job prospects and skyrocketing housing prices. “We have to stand up for our rights or they will be taken away,” she said.
Protesters clashed with police intermittently throughout the day, occasionally hurling traffic cones and other objects over metal traffic barriers. Police responded with pepper spray, which was met with unfurled parasols, similar to those used in 2014 pro-democracy protests that became known as the Umbrella Movement.
The demonstrators also appeared mindful of Beijing’s growing use of electronic surveillance such as facial recognition technology to build dossiers on those it considers politically unreliable, with many donning surgical or anti-pollution masks to hide their features, as well as to safeguard against tear gas.
Such protests are not tolerated in mainland China, and Hong Kong residents can face travel bans and other repercussions if they cross the border.
In a statement read out to reporters, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Mathew Cheung urged the protesters to clear the streets.
“I would also like to ask the people in this gathering to stay calm and leave the scene as soon as possible and not to commit any crime,” he said.
Under its “one country, two systems” framework, Hong Kong was supposed to be guaranteed the right to retain its own social, legal and political systems for 50 years following its handover from British rule in 1997. However, China’s ruling Communist Party has been seen as increasingly reneging on that agreement by forcing through unpopular legal changes. The government had pushed ahead with plans to present the amendments to the legislature yesterday despite a weekend protest by hundreds of thousands of people that was the territory’s largest political demonstration in more than a decade.
Ms Lam has consistently defended the legislation as necessary to close legal loopholes with other countries and territories. A vote is scheduled for next Thursday. The protests are widely seen as reflecting growing apprehension about relations with the Communist Party-ruled mainland, where Mr Xi has said he has zero tolerance for those demanding greater self-rule for Hong Kong.
Critics believe the extradition legislation would put Hong Kong residents at risk of being entrapped in China’s judicial system.
AP, Reuters
Albanese’s foreign policy racked by cowardice and confusion on Israel
Either this Labor government supports Israel in its fight against Iran and the barbarism of Hezbollah and Hamas, or it doesn’t.
Biden, Harris condemn anti-Semitism and recognise ‘indomitable’ Israeli spirit
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have marked the one year anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel as a day of ‘mourning’ and endorsed the right of the Jewish state to defend itself.