Hundreds of thousands join democracy march in Hong Kong

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday against the government, marking the latest unrest in a political movement that shows few signs of slowing.

Protesters ignored police orders to end the march before reaching the government headquarters. Demonstrators occupied both sides of a main artery outside the government complex, as some looked on at the barricade building and others walked on toward the city centre. Volunteers instructed protesters entering this part of the protest to put on face masks to avoid detection by police while others carried water, umbrellas and other supplies.

The march marks the seventh consecutive weekend when citizens have come out against the government. The protests, which began over the now-suspended bill, have grown into a wider democracy movement in the Chinese territory.

“The government hasn’t responded, so we just need to keep coming out,” said Catherine Sin, 21, a recent graduate who said this was the fourth protest she had attended in the last month.

Demonstrators created a sea of black, the official colour of the protest movement, punctuated by umbrellas giving shade from the sun. They chanted their demands, focused mainly on calls for an investigation into police tactics against unarmed demonstrators and dropping prosecutions against arrested protesters: “Investigate suppression” and “withdraw the prosecution.”. Some held photos of injured protesters and signs saying: “Stop police brutality.”

Amid the main march, hundreds made a detour to congregate outside the police headquarters, which has twice before been the scene of noisy rallies in which protesters vandalised the outside of the building. On Sunday, the HQ was surrounded by giant water-filled barricades set up by the authorities. Several riot police officers in green uniform holding long shields were standing guard behind the barricades at one point.

Protesters stuck colourful sticky notes with messages condemning police violence on the barricades. “Nasty police, shame on you!” many shouted. “Hong Kong police know the law but break the law.” The crowds booed and showed their middle fingers several times when several police officers appeared on a balcony.

Earlier, there were cheers as protesters streamed out of Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, heading towards the city centre. Demonstrators called: “Go Hong Kong!” and held signs that said “No extradition to China” – in reference to the controversial extradition bill that has caused the city’s largest political crisis in decades.

In response to mass demonstrations and clashes that began in early June, Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, promised the extradition bill was “dead”. Protesters worried Beijing would use the bill to extradite activists and political enemies to China.

Activists have vowed to continue until Lam meets key demands, including the permanent withdrawal of the bill, and democratic reforms to establish direct elections. They also want her to resign.

“She keeps making things worse,” said Gordon Poon, who joined the march.

Sunday’s protest was quieter than past ones, some said, but activists were still happy with the turnout. Three hours after the march began crowds were still making their way from the demonstration’s starting point.

“People still came out. We still have to do something, said Crystal Wong, 34, a therapist.

Others said they were prepared to come out every weekend or several times a month. A social worker who asked to give only her surname, So, said: “I think it’s becoming more long-lasting. We are ready for a long fight.”

Before the march began, some demonstrators shouted at police officers, condemning them for beating protesters in past protests. One young man used rolled up paper to repeatedly beat a poster with a photograph of the police commissioner. Bags of rubbish and newspaper were thrown out of a nearby window at the crowd, which drew boos in response.

Police built water barriers around their headquarters and set a security cordon around the government complex. Metal fences, rubbish bins and other street materials, which demonstrators have dismantled and used to make barricades for past protests, have been removed. Workers have glued bricks to the ground to stop them being used as weapons.

The police have warned of possible violence. Authorities said on Saturday they discovered 2kg of powerful homemade explosives, triacetone triperoxide (TATP), and petrol bombs, acid, knives and metal rods on the premises, as well as anti-extradition bill banners.

The route of Sunday’s march was originally meant to end at Hong Kong’s high court in the city centre to underline another demand – for a judge-led commission to investigate police use of rubber bullets, teargas and truncheons on unarmed protesters over the past few weeks. Instead, police have ordered the rally organiser, Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), to conclude the march at an earlier point on the route, before reaching the city centre, which is close to the government complex. Local public broadcaster RTHK reported that protesters were defying police orders and marching toward the government headquarters in Admiralty.

In an English-language editorial on Sunday, China’s state-run Global Times said: “China will not allow extremists and external forces to take down Hong Kong’s legal system and drive the city into a vicious cycle. If Hong Kong loses its rule of law and becomes a political battleground, it will have an uncertain future. That is against the wishes of Hong Kong residents, and China will not allow it to happen.”

The protests pose the most direct challenge to Beijing’s authority over the former British colony since its return to Chinese control in 1997. As part of the deal, Hong Kong was meant to maintain a high degree of autonomy from the mainland, with an independent judiciary and a free press, under a framework known as one country, two systems.

But over the years, the city has witnessed the growing influence of Beijing. Independent booksellers have disappeared, the government has disqualified pro-democracy politicians and jailed pro-democracy activists.

Bonnie Leung Wing-man, the vice convener of CHRF, said she expected as many to turn out as in a recent march on 1 July, the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover, when half a million people attended. More than 1 million people attended previous marches.

“As Carrie Lam’s government didn’t show real actions or sincerity to respond to our … demands, and police abuse of power has continued, we expect a large turnout,” she said.

The protests have settled into a pattern in which peaceful demonstrations sanctioned by the city turn violent when police clash with those who refuse to leave. Police have warned demonstrators to leave immediately when the demonstration ends on Sunday, one minute before midnight.

On Saturday, pro-Beijing groups organised a rival rally pledging support for the police and calling for an end to the unrest. In China, the protests have been described as riots, with state-media focusing on demonstrators’ clashes with police. Images of the protests have been censored on the messaging platform WeChat.

A group of demonstrators released a video of protesters, hunger strikers and others reading aloud a manifesto for the movement. Some faced the camera while others showed only their backs. Two women, said to be parents of protesters, said: “We do not have arms, we are not violent. All we have are hearts that yearn for justice and a fearless … determination to go on.”

While protesters have vowed to continue until Lam meets their demands, some say they fear the movement will lose steam as demonstrations fail to produce meaningful results from the government. “There is no end. In the short term I’m not optimistic, but we are doing our best. Without actual change of regime in Beijing, nothing will improve,” said Poon.