Hong Kong police begin to clear streets of protesters



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After daybreak Monday, police announced that they want to clear the streets of protesters in the morning. Soon after, police lined up several officers deep and faced off against several hundred demonstrators on a street in central Hong Kong. The police asked for co-operation in clearing the road. Protesters replied with chants, some kneeling in front of the officers.

Crowds had gathered well after dark outside the police headquarters and Chief Executive Carrie Lam's office. On Saturday, Lam suspended her effort to force passage of the bill, which would allow some suspects to be sent for trial in mainland China.

The move did not appease Hong Kong residents who see it as one of many steps chipping away at Hong Kong's freedoms and legal autonomy. Opponents worry the law could be used to send criminal suspects to China to potentially face vague political charges, possible torture and unfair trials.



Smaller crowds stood chanting outside Lam's office building.



Not enough, said the pro-democracy activists.



The crowds filled a wide thoroughfare and side streets paralleling the waterfront of Victoria Harbor as tourists and shoppers who drive much of the Asian financial hub's economy looked on.



At the march's end, hundreds sat wearily around the government headquarters. Some were singing, some listening to speeches. Some were just resting.

"There isn't really a plan. It's like playing a chess game," said a man who gave only his first name, Mitchel, perhaps fearing trouble with the authorities.


Many here believe Hong Kong's legal autonomy has been significantly diminished despite Beijing's insistence that it is still honouring its promise, dubbed "one country, two systems," that the territory can retain its own social, legal and political system for 50 years after the handover.


Protesters also are angry over the way police used tear gas, rubber bullets and other forceful measures as demonstrators broke through barricades outside the city government's headquarters in that smaller but more aggressive protest.

The police presence on Sunday was considerably more relaxed, with officers deployed mainly to direct traffic as the protesters wound their way through Hong Kong's commercial centre from a sprawling downtown park to government headquarters.

Farther down the parade route, mourners lined up to lay flowers and pay respects at a makeshift memorial for a man who fell to his death Saturday after hanging a protest banner that read in part, "Make Love, No Shoot" and "No Extradition to China."



Pro-democracy activists were calling for a general strike on Monday despite Lam's decision to suspend work on the legislation. Some labour unions, teachers' associations and other groups were planning boycotts of work and classes, demanding the Lam administration retire the proposed amendments and not bring them up again for passage at a later stage.

"We encourage all the public to carry on the campaign," said Bonnie Leung, a leader of the pro-democracy group Civil Human Rights Front. "If any new violence takes place, it will be the responsibility of the police."

The Communist Party-ruled mainland took control in 1997 with a promise not to interfere with the city's civil liberties and courts. Many in Hong Kong fear the extradition bill would undermine freedoms enjoyed here but not elsewhere in China.

"China just wants to turn Hong Kong into another Chinese city," said Alex To, 54, who runs a small business. "Carrie Lam is just a figurehead. Everything depends on the attitudes of the leaders in Beijing."







Associated Press journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.

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