Hong Kong activists renew protest against extradition bill

More than 100 people blocked a Hong Kong government building on Monday in protest against proposed legislation allowing extraditions to mainland China that they want to be scrapped.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, saying she had heard the protesters “loud and clear”, this month postponed the bill that would allow criminal suspects to be sent to the mainland for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.

The activists, mostly students, are demanding the bill be withdrawn, the government drop all charges against those arrested in recent protests and stop referring to the demonstrations as a riot, which could potentially lead to heavier jail terms Reuters said.

“It’s inconvenient but I support it,” a South African businessman who declined to be identified said of the protest at the skyscraper inland revenue building near the heart of the financial center.

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The former British colony of Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, since when it has been governed under a “one country, two systems” formula that allows it freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including the freedom to protest and a much-cherished independent judiciary.

The bill has seen millions of people, fearing a continual, drip-drip erosion of those freedoms, clog the streets in protest and plunge the city into a political crisis, with many questioning the ability of Lam to govern.

The protesters plan another demonstration on Wednesday to raise awareness among world leaders attending the Group of 20 nations summit in the Japanese city of Osaka this week.

Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun said on Monday that China would not allow the G20 nations to discuss Hong Kong at the summit.

“What I can tell you for sure is that G20 will not discuss the Hong Kong issue. We will not allow G20 to discuss the Hong Kong issue,” Zhang said.