Thousands of people take part in the annual
protest that coincides with the date in 1997 when Britain handed over control of Hong Kong back to China. Opposition to a proposed Hong Kong law allowing extraditions to China has created increased activism. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI |
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Protesters break into the government's parliament building during a demonstration on the 22nd anniversary of the territory's handover to China on July 1. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A police officer watches protesters amass outside the government's parliament building. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who are opposed to a proposed Hong Kong law allowing extraditions to China protested in the streets. The violent clashes between demonstrators and police left at least 54 people seeking treatment, hospital officials said. At least two were in serious condition, but most were discharged. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Protesters gather in the Legislative Council's Chamber and erected a banner inside reading "There's no rioters, there's only tyranny." Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Protesters gather in the Legislative Council's Chamber during the demonstration. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Police in riot gear watch protesters amass outside the government's parliament building. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Student activists take down signs and clean up a walkway decorated with signs and flowers, placed in honor for those injured and killed during the protests, in Hong Kong on June 19. Hong Kong's businesses have breathed a sigh of relief as protests against the extradition bill were suspended and activists called off protests. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet apologized this week and halted debates on the extradition bill. Two of her advisers
followed suit on Wednesday. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI |
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The leadership is in a tough position because several of Lam's key allies in her pro-establishment bloc support the bill and Hong Kong's Legislative Council also has a majority of its lawmakers appointed by the Chinese Communist Party. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Signs from the protests are piled on the curb. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Student activists take down signs and clean up a walkway. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A worker cycles past a road decorated from the protests. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A man writes on a sidewalk message board posted by activists before Sunday's massive march in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Hong Kong's government has reopened after Sunday's historic march protesting the extradition bill and calling for Chief Executive Carrie Lam's resignation resulted in the suspension of the bill. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A student writes a message on a sidewalk message board. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
The extradition bill would have allowed for fugitives from Beijing's courts residing in Hong Kong to be extradited to China. The bill was put on hold Saturday, but then 2 million people took to the streets Sunday, demanding the bill be permanently scrapped. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
The former British colony has been allowed its own local institutions under a "one country, two systems" arrangement with China. Protesters see the extradition law as a further whittling away of the island's democracy by Beijing. Supporters say it will prevent the island from being a haven for Chinese criminals. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Protests erupted June 9 and have continued despite Lam announcing Saturday that the bill had been halted. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
People walk past protest messages still hanging on the gate surrounding the government house, which were posted on Sunday. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Hong Kong's most prominent student activist, Joshua Wong, prepares to talk with protesters hours after he was
released from prison in Hong Kong on Monday. Wong said he is ready to "join the fight" against the suspended extradition bill and called for Beijing-backed Lam to resign. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI |
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Wong, 22, was released Monday after serving a two-month jail sentence in connection with the 2014 protests that rocked the island demanding more civil power from China to choose its own political leaders. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Two protesters talk with a large group of activists and striking students camped out at a pavilion on the Legislative Government complex in Hong Kong on Monday. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A protester points in a guard's face. The woman is outside a barrier lined with Hong Kong police guarding the Legislative Government headquarters. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Activists and students march to the Legislative Government headquarters. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Protesters march to the Legislative Government headquarters. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Protesters block a road as they gather outside barriers lined with Hong Kong police guarding the Legislative Government headquarters on Monday. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
About 2 million people
protested in Hong Kong on Sunday, which Organizers of Civil Human Rights Front estimated the turnout was double the 1 million who took to the streets seven days earlier to demonstrate against the bill. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI |
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The city of 7 million is the world's fourth most densely populated region. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A crowd chanted the Cantonese word for "Retract!" in a message to Lam to permanently scrap the bill. A large number of protesters sang "Do You Hear The People Sing?," a song from musical Les Miserables and the anthem of Hong Kong protests in 2014. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
People
wore black during the protest and many carried white flowers to honor a man who died after falling from a building Saturday while holding banners opposing the extradition bill. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI |
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In 2047, Hong Kong fully becomes part of China because that is when the "one country, two systems" deal ends. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 when the United Kingdom worked out a deal to turn Hong Kong to China under the stipulation that Hong Kong residents would continue to enjoy many of the rights that they had as British subjects. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A massive crowd gathers in a park. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A police officer negotiates with protesters who have stopped traffic. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Some protesters block traffic as part of the demonstration. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Two smaller, peaceful protests preceded the massive demonstration on Sunday. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A U.S. bill co-sponsored by House and Senate lawmakers Thursday said it
reaffirmed the American commitment to democracy, human rights and rule of law at a time when "these freedoms and Hong Kong's autonomy are being eroded." Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI |
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Protesters march in front of the Hong Kong skyline. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Millions of Hong Kong residents take to the streets. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo