Hong Kong protesters return to the streets

More than a thousand demonstrators dressed in black resumed protests in Hong Kong on Friday against a controversial extradition bill. The demonstrators, most of them students, gathered outside government offices in the city center. Those offices remained closed on Friday “due to security considerations.” Police told demonstrators to disperse but did not immediately use force to remove them.

Protesters are demanding the Hong Kong government completely scrap the bill, which would make it easier to send criminal suspects to China, where they could face unfair trials. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam last week issued an apology for the security crackdown on previous protests. She suspended the bill from the current legislative session but has not withdrawn it. The protesters also demanded the government investigate the police crackdown and drop charges against detained demonstrators.

Several hundred people gathered outside police headquarters to demand accountability. Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong asked Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung to answer for law enforcement’s heavy-handed tactics against the protesters while the crowd sang the hymn, “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord,” which has become the unofficial protest anthem.