Protests Force Hong Kong to Postpone Extradition Bill Debate
Laignee Barron / Hong Kong
Protesters occupy the streets outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on June 12, 2019. -
PHILIP FONG—AFP/Getty Images
Thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets surrounding Hong Kong’s legislature Wednesday morning, choking major thoroughfares with barricades and human chains, and prompting the government to abruptly postpone a planned debate over a divisive extradition law.
The mass turnout led the president of the Legislative Council to put off the 11 a.m. debate to an “unspecified later time to be determined by him,†according to an official statement. However, protesters remain at the scene, along with a massive police presence. Demonstrators are in goggles and masks to protect themselves from pepper spray, and some have been seen breaking up pavements and stockpiling bricks in expectation of battles with police.
The city has boiled over into massive protests in recent days as the government attempted to fast-track the controversial legislation that would, for the first time, allow fugitives to be sent to mainland China. The bill has ignited fears about the former British colony’s continued autonomy—promised after its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997—and also underscored the depth of anxiety over its relationship to Beijing.
Read more at: https://time.com/5605154/hong-kong-extradition-strike-protests/
Protesters outside Hong Kong's Legco on Wednesday morning attempt to protect themselves with umbrellas in anticipation of a pepper spray attack from police [Euan McKirdy/Al Jazeera]
Protesters, many wearing black shirts, started gathering around Hong Kong's Legco complex from early in the morning [Euan McKirdy/Al Jazeera]
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/hong-kong-gears-protests-extradition-bill-190611234342340.html
That's why they wear the masks, pepper spray obviously. There are clips of the police using it. The police are doing their duty, not commenting on their actions personally as to right or wrong, some police have gotten roughed up some as well.
