Hong Kong’s Legislative Council plans to vote Wednesday on the bill
Hong Kong — Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Hong Kong on Sunday to voice their opposition to government-sponsored legislation that would allow people to be extradited to mainland China to face charges. The peaceful protest turned violent early Monday morning when several hundred protesters stormed Hong Kong’s parliament and clashed with police.
According to Reuters, demonstrators charged at police lines in an attempt to enter the Legislative Council building. The police charged back, displaying tear gas guns and using pepper spray. The crowd briefly pushed its way into the lobby but police used batons and pepper spray and the protesters were moved outside. There is no confirmation yet if anyone has been killed or injured.
The massive demonstration took place three days before the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s government plans to bring the highly contentious bill to the full legislature, bypassing the committee process in a bid to win approval by the end of the month. The bill has been proposed by the administration of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
The protest was one of the largest in recent Hong Kong history. It appeared to be larger than the 2014 Pro Democracy Movement protests. It also appeared to be even bigger than a massive pro-democracy demonstration in 2003 against a proposed national security law, according to Associated Press journalists who covered both events.
