Black-clad, anti-extradition protesters flood streets of Hong Kong

HONG KONG (Reuters): Thousands of black-clad protesters blocked roads and surrounded police headquarters in Hong Kong on Friday in the latest demonstrations over an extradition bill that has triggered violent protests and plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis.

Groups of mostly students wearing hard hats, goggles and face masks set up roadblocks and trapped vehicles in a generally peaceful protest to demand that embattled leader Carrie Lam, who promoted and then postponed the bill, scrap it altogether.

“Having people here is giving pressure to the government that we don’t agree with your extradition plans,” said student Edison Ng, who was protesting in sweltering heat of about 32 degrees Celsius (90°F).

“It is not clear how long we will stay ... To go or not to go, (the) people will decide,” he added.

The protests, which pose the greatest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he took power in 2012, once again forced the temporary closure of government offices over security concerns. 

Roads that would normally be jammed with lunch-time traffic near the heart of the Asian financial centre were empty, except for a few dozen demonstrators who were reinforcing roadblocks with metal barriers.

“Never surrender,” echoed through the streets as the protesters chanted near police headquarters and called on police chief Stephen Lo to step down.

Police warned activists through loud hailers not to charge.

Hundreds remained outside government buildings on Friday evening, sitting peacefully and spraying each other with water to keep cool. Nearby, a large group sang “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord”, which has emerged as the unlikely anthem of the protests.

Millions of people, fearing a further erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms by China, have clogged the streets of the former British colony this month to rally against the bill, which would allow people to be extradited to the mainland to face trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.

It triggered the most violent protests in decades when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds.