Police kept a close watch over central Hong Kong as the Asian financial hub retu...
HONG KONG - Police kept a close watch over central Hong Kong as the Asian financial hub returned to normalcy on Friday, with banks re-opening branches closed during violent protests against a proposed extradition bill with mainland China.
A few dozen demonstrators remained near the city’s legislature on Friday, which had been scheduled to debate the bill this week but was thwarted when thousands of protesters took to the streets and blocked the building. The territory’s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, has stood by the bill, arguing that it is necessary to plug loopholes that allow criminals wanted on the mainland to use the city as a haven. She has said the courts would provide human rights safeguards.
On Thursday, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Stephen Lo said police had arrested 11 people and fired about 150 tear gas canisters at the crowd during protests on Wednesday. The city’s hospital authority said 81 people were injured in the protests. Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under an agreement that promised a high degree of autonomy for the city within a “one country, two systems” framework. Critics say Beijing has been slowly undermining that deal and encroaching on Hong Kong’s freedoms.
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