2019 Hong Kong Extradition Bill Protests
The June 9 protest captured in Hennessy Road.
Date	April 28 2019 – present
Location	Hong Kong: Causeway Bay to Admiralty (28 April 2019) Central to Admiralty (6 June 2019) Causeway Bay to Admiralty (9 June 2019) Multiple regions: (9 June) New York City San Francisco Los Angeles Toronto Vancouver London Berlin Frankfurt Tokyo Sydney Taipei
Caused by	The proposal of the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 by the Government of Hong Kong
Goals	Withdrawal of the bill Remove extradition to mainland China Resignation of Chief executive Carrie Lam
Methods	Occupations, sit-ins, civil disobedience, mobile street protests, internet activism
Parties
Legal professions Law Society of Hong Kong Hong Kong Bar Association Pro-democracy activists Civil Human Rights Front Demosistō Authorities Hong Kong SAR Government Hong Kong Police Force Chinese central government Communist Party of China
Lead figures
Dennis Kwok Claudia Mo Jimmy Sham Carrie Lam Teresa Cheng John Lee
Arrests
Arrested	358[1]

The 2019 Hong Kong Extradition Bill Protests is a series of demonstrations in Hong Kong and other cities around the world, demanding the withdrawal of the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 proposed by the Government of Hong Kong. It is feared that the bill would cause the city would open itself up to the long arm of mainland Chinese law and that people from Hong Kong could fall victim to a different legal system.

Various protests has been launched in Hong Kong by the general public and legal communities. Among all protest, the June 9 protest, which was stated with 1.03 million people attendance by the Civil Human Rights Front, has gained large mass media coverage.^[2] Protests in other places were also launched by the Hong Kong immigrants.

Despite the widespread demonstrations, the government insists on the bill, claiming that the bill is urgent and the "loophole" should be fixed.^[3]

First protest.

Bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who claimed he was kidnapped by Chinese agents in Shenzhen in 2015, left Hong Kong for Taiwan on 27 April, fearing the proposed extradition law would mean he could be sent to mainland China.^[4]

On 28 April, an estimated 130,000 protesters joined the march against proposed extradition law. The turnout was the largest since an estimated 510,000 joined the annual July 1 protest in 2014.^[5] A day after the protest, Chief Executive Carrie Lam was adamant that the bill would be enacted and said the Legislative Councillors had to pass new extradition laws before their summer break, even though the man at the heart of a case used to justify the urgency of new legislation Chan Tong-kai had been jailed for 29 months shortly before.^[6] Chan received a prison sentence of 29 months on 29 April. However, since he had already been detained for 13 months since his arrest in Hong Kong, his sentence would end in August 2020. Secretary for Security John Lee claimed that Chan could be released by October at the earliest since good behaviour in prison can result in a one-third reduction of a prisoner's sentence, and he would then be free to leave the city.^[7]

Carrie Lam dismissed the assertion that the mainland was intentionally excluded from the extradition laws ahead of the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 as "trash talk". She denied that there were fears over the mainland's legal system after the handover, or that China had agreed to the exclusion. However, her claim was refuted by last colonial governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten and then Chief Secretary Anson Chan. "Both Hong Kong and China knew very well that there had to be a firewall between our different legal systems," said Patten.^[8] Patten also warned that the extradition law would be the "worst thing" to happen in Hong Kong since the 1997 handover, saying that it would remove the firewall between Hong Kong and mainland China.^[9] Malcolm Rifkind, former British Foreign Secretary who oversaw the final stages of the handover, also denied that the lack of extradition arrangements between Hong Kong and the Mainland was "a loophole". He stated that "negotiators from both China and the UK made a conscious decision to create a clear divide between the two systems so that the rule of law remains robust", and that "lawyers and politicians from across the political spectrum in Hong Kong have proposed multiple other viable solutions which will ensure that Chan faces justice".^[10]

The Law Society of Hong Kong urged the government not to rush the legislation but should stop to conduct extensive consultation before it goes any further. The Bar Association said in response to the concessions that the additional safeguards provided by the government was "riddled with uncertainties ...[and that it] offers scarcely any reliable assurances."^[11]

In a rare protest, more than 3,000 Hong Kong lawyers, representing around one quarter of the city's lawyers, march against the bill. Wearing black, they marched from the Court of Final Appeal to the Central Government Offices on 6 June. The march was organised by Dennis Kwok, Legislative Councillor for the Legal constituency.

While lawyers expressed grave reservations about the openness and fairness of the justice system in China, limited access to a lawyer, and the prevalence of torture, Secretary for Security John Lee said the legal sector did not really understand the bill. A senior barrister complained that government's inability or unwillingness to listen was polarising, adding that it was "so stupid, so arrogant."^[12]

In response to the proposed bill, the Civil Human Rights Front, a platform of 50 pro-democracy groups, launched a long march from Victoria Park, Causeway Bay to the Legislative Council in Admiralty on 9 June.^[13] Hundreds of thousands of protesters were drawn to the street, chanting "Scrap the evil law," "Oppose China extradition" and "Carrie Lam resign" and waving Taiwanese flags on the day.^{[14] [15]} Protesters brought Hong Kong Island to a halt from early afternoon to late at night. The MTR enacted crowd control measures by the order of the police in which the trains did not stop at Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Tin Hau stations for hours.^[16] Protesters had to get off at Fortress Hill in order to join the protest from there. Police urged protesters to march from Victoria Park before the 3pm start-time to ease overcrowding. A large number of protesters were still leaving Victoria Park up to four hours after the start time and were still arriving at the end-point at Admiralty seven hours after the protest began. Police opened up all lanes on Hennessy Road after initially refusing to do so. Jimmy Sham, convener of the Civil Human Rights Front claimed 1.03 million people attended the march, the largest protest Hong Kong has ever seen since 1997 handover, surpassing the turnout seen at mass rallies in support of the Tiananmen protests of 1989 and July 1 march of 2003.^[17] However, the police reduced it to a more conservative estimate of 240,000 at its peak.^[18]

Hundreds of protesters camped out in front of the government headquarters well into the night, with more joining them in response to calls from Demosisto and pro-independence activists. The Civil Human Rights Front officially called an end to the march at 10pm, however, many protesters remained at the compound. A stand-off with police around midnight descended into chaos, with protesters throwing bottles and metal barriers at the police while the police tried to drive them away with batons and pepper spray.^[18]

At least 29 rallies were held in 12 countries with protesters taking to the streets in cities such as New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Berlin, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Sydney and Taipei. About 3,000 people attended the rally in Sydney, while a protest outside the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin drew nearly 200 people.^[19] As one of the biggest overseas protests, hundreds of demonstrators mostly made up of Hong Kong immigrants filled the street outside the Chinese consulate-general in Vancouver with yellow umbrellas and chants against the extradition law. More than 60 people gathered outside the White House in Washington to protest against the bill.^[20]

Carrie Lam declined to answer questions at a public appearance in Ocean Park on 9 June afternoon. At 11pm, the government issued a press statement, saying that it "acknowledge[s] and respect[s] that people have different views on a wide range of issues", but insisted the second reading debate on the bill would resume on 12 June.^[21] Following the 10 June violent clashes, Lam spoke in the next morning, admitting that the size of the rally showed there were "clearly still concerns" over the bill but refused to withdraw the bill.^[22]

After the protest, the Beijing government blamed "outside interference" and voiced its support to the Hong Kong administration. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang accused opponents of the proposed legislation of "collusion with the West". The Chinese-language edition of the Global Times dismissed Sunday's mass demonstration, stating that "some international forces have significantly strengthened their interaction with the Hong Kong opposition in recent months".^[23] An editorial in the English-language China Daily cited more than 700,000 people backing the legislation through an online petition, "countering a protest by about 240,000 people."^[24][25]

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted that "We stand with all freedom-loving people of #HongKong. In their faces, we see the longing for freedom, & are reminded that #Taiwan’s hard-earned democracy must be guarded & renewed by every generation. As long as I’m President, “one country, two systems” will never be an option."^[26]

• 2019 in Hong Kong
• Causeway Bay Books disappearances
• Extradition Act 2003
• Human rights in China
• Victor Mallet visa controversy

Template:Anti-government protests in the 21st century