Hong Kong protesters threaten more demos if demands not met

HONG KONG, China — Hong Kong student groups were mobilizing support for another major demonstration, a union leader said, as a Thursday deadline approached for the pro-Beijing government to respond to demands of protesters who have shaken the city with massive rallies.

Millions have marched this month to oppose a proposed law that would have allowed extraditions to the Chinese mainland, but the huge protest movement has morphed into a larger rebuke of Hong Kong’s administration.

Under-fire chief executive Carrie Lam has apologized and suspended the controversial bill, but that has failed to quell the opposition, with protesters demanding she step down and completely withdraw the legislation.

A network of students at universities and higher education institutions is preparing to mobilize based on a 5:00 p.m. (0900 GMT) Thursday deadline circulating online for several demands to be met, said So Tsun Fung, president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Students Union.

In addition to Lam’s ouster and the extradition law’s withdrawal, protesters have also demanded the release of those detained during sporadic clashes with police last week, and an investigation into allegations of police brutality.

So told AFP the student network would call for people to surround Hong Kong’s main government offices at 7:00 a.m. Friday (2300 GMT Thursday) if the Lam administration does not respond to demands.

Human chain

“The hope is to apply pressure before civil servants go to work if we have a certain amount of people,” he added.

In a chat group seen by AFP on the messaging app Telegram, some users posted anonymous polls asking its more than 34,000 members how they wanted to protest Friday, with options including a peaceful sit-in, forming a human chain, or surrounding Lam’s residence.

Lam has defied calls from protesters and vowed to stay on as chief executive.

A Hong Kong government press representative asked AFP to direct queries about the demands to Lam’s office, which could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Civil Human Rights Front, a group that helped facilitate the massive June 9 and June 16 rallies, said it would support any lawful and peaceful protest by student groups.

The ongoing protests have been largely “leaderless,” with no one group or individual articulating demands or negotiating with authorities on the demonstrators’ behalf.

The minority pro-democracy bloc in Hong Kong’s legislature would also back the students and urges them to remain peaceful, opposition lawmaker Claudia Mo told AFP.

“We will stand by any time, anywhere to make sure that there won’t be any repeat of police brutality,” she said, referring to the violence last week.

Opponents of the extradition bill that sparked the crisis have said they fear the proposal will ensnare the people of Hong Kong in mainland China’s opaque and politicized justice system and also give Beijing a tool to target its critics based in the semi-autonomous territory. /ee