Hong Kong captured the world’s attention again with massive protests against proposed changes to its extradition law. According to the organizer, over one-million people took the streets on June 9 in Hong Kong.
And in 30 cities around the world, people are rallying to show their support.
From Boston to New York, from Vancouver to Tokyo; Berlin, and Sydney; Hong Kongers and supporters of Hong Kong’s democracy are in a bid to block the proposed extradition bill.
The law would allow not just Hong Kong residents, but foreigners living in or visiting Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial. Many fear that this law will be used against political dissidents and critics of the Chinese Communist Party.
“In China, people could be arbitrarily arrested, tortured to confess crimes they haven’t committed,” said an organizer of the rally in Toronto, Canada. “They could be made to disappear, made to get sick, or even made to commit suicide.”
Protestors say the bill is an erosion of rule-of-law in Hong Kong, and urge Western governments to condemn the bill and help defend Hong Kong’s democracy against the Chinese Communist Party.
They also ask Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam—who has vowed to push the bill through—to step down.
“I had witnessed that Hong Kong’s freedom is shrinking and shrinking,” Hong Kong resident Ming Li told NTD at the June 9 protest in Hong Kong. “And if the amendment is passed, I think our freedom will be minimized. We’ll be pretty much the same as mainland China.”
The bill could reach a final vote before the current legislative period ends in July.
The protest in Hong Kong is said to be the largest since the Chinese Communist Party took over the city.
