The 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests are a series of demonstrations in Hong Kong against the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill, proposed by the government of Hong Kong. Secretary for Security John Lee introduced this legislation in February 2019 in response to a murder that occurred in Taiwan in 2018 in which the suspect had fled to Hong Kong.
If enacted, the bill would allow local authorities to detain and extradite people who are wanted in countries or territories that Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements with, including mainland China and Taiwan. Opponents of the legislation fear that it would place Hong Kong residents and visitors under the jurisdiction of mainland courts (which are controlled by the Communist Party of China) and not only apply to criminals but political dissidents as well.
Demonstrations against the bill first occurred in March and April but escalated in June. At least 240,000 people, but up to one million according to organisers, marched in protest on June 9, 2019.
Protests on June 12, the day the bill was scheduled to proceed a second reading in the Legislative Council, marked a sharp escalation in violence, as riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators. Since this protest, accusations of excessive force by police have eroded the public trust in law enforcement. Investigations into police behaviour and greater accountability for the actions became a part of protester demands in the coming up marches. Following the June 12 protest, at least 338,000 (up to two million, according to organisers), attended a much larger demonstration on June 16.
Protestors initially demanded only the withdrawal of the extradition bill. Following the escalation in police tactical response against demonstrators on June 12, and the bill’s suspension on June 15, and Focus Taiwan suggests the objective of the protestors has been to achieve the following five demands:
1. Complete withdrawal of the extradition bill from the legislative process.
2. Retraction of the "riot" characterisation.
3. Release and exoneration of arrested protestors: protesters consider the arrests to be politically motivated, as they question the legitimacy of police officers arresting protesters at hospitals using their confidential medical data in breach of patient privacy.
4. The establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into police conduct and use of force during the protests.
5. Resignation of Carrie Lam and the implementation of universal suffrage for Legislative Council and Chief Executive elections.
July 1, 2019, marked the 22nd anniversary of the territory’s handover from the United Kingdom in 1997. Over 190,000 people participated in the annual pro-democracy protest. According to the Hong Kong Free Press, a portion of the demonstrators split from the march and broke into the Legislative Council Complex and vandalised central government symbols in the chamber.
Protests have continued through the summer, often escalating into heated confrontations between police, democracy activists, pro-Beijing triad gang members, and local residents in over 20 different neighbourhoods spread throughout Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.
As demonstrations continue, protestors have increasingly called for direct elections to choose Legislative Council members and the Chief Executive, an issue that itself triggered mass protests in 2014.
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