Hundreds of thousands in Hong Kong protest bill that would allow extraditions to China

Protesters gather Sunday at the Central Government offices after a rally against an extradition proposal. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

June 9 - The Washington Post

HONG KONG — Corporate lawyers and university students, housewives and religious leaders, migrant workers and artists — a cross-section of society rose up Sunday in one of the largest demonstrations in Hong Kong’s history to protest a proposed extradition law that many fear would finally break the dam holding back China’s surging influence over the political haven.

Despite sweltering heat and storm clouds gathering overhead, several hundred thousand people turned out for Sunday’s march in defiant scenes reminiscent of the Occupy Central movement in 2014 and a mass rally in 2003 that effectively shelved a controversial sedition law backed by Beijing. Many said they were joining a demonstration for the first time because they viewed it as a last chance to voice their outrage as Hong Kong’s political freedoms shrivel.

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