Thousands of people filled the streets outside government headquarters in Hong Kong on Friday to demand the complete withdrawal of contentious legislation allowing extradition to China.

The demonstrators, mostly students wearing black, staged a sit-in on the major traffic artery of Harcourt Road, which runs through the busy commercial district. Video footage appeared to show they had left one lane open for vehicles.

Read more: Hong Kong protests: 'We are fighting against a dictatorship'

Campaigners say the extradition law is part of a campaign by Beijing to undermine the semi-autonomous region's democratic institutions.

"We are angry because we feel helpless," one protester told DW." We asked for a withdrawal of the bill, but it was just suspended. The police just fool us around."

A poster to promote the demonstration urged protesters to sit in and "picnic" around the government headquarters, which was closed ahead of the rally due to security concerns.

Protest leaders say they are determined to maintain pressure on the administration of territory leader Carrie Lam, after demonstrations over recent weeks that have drawn hundreds of thousands into the streets.

Following those protests, Lam agreed to shelve the law but did not concede to campaigners' demands for it to be scrapped altogether.

Read more: Hong Kong protests: 'This discontent is really about China'

Other demands by activists include an investigation into police tactics used against the protesters in the earlier demonstrations — including the use of tear gas and rubber bullets — and the dropping of charges against those who were arrested. Many have called for Lam to resign.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill Defiance Despite official calls to disperse, demonstrators continued to march on Wednesday. They overturned police barriers and stood their ground even when confronted with pepper spray and a threat by police to use force if they continued to oppose their orders.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill Homage Some protesters left umbrellas on the police barricades, an homage to the "Occupy Democracy" movement that began in 2014. The massive, months-long campaign was prompted by constitutional reforms that allowed Beijing to approve candidates for Hong Kong elections.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill One million strong Organizers say that over 1 million people have joined in the demonstrations, which blocked two main highways near government headquarters on Wednesday. Most of the protesters are students and young people. Students were boycotting classes to attend the rallies.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill A question of autonomy and rights Activists have decried the move to allow extradition to China, because of Beijing's poor human rights and legal record. Many in Hong Kong are also upset by the creeping authoritarianism in the city, after they were promised autonomy when the territory was given back to China from the UK in 1997.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill Out in force Thousands of officers, including riot police, have been deployed throughout the city. Over the weekend, demonstrators hurled bottles at security forces and tried to push their way into the parliament building, but were blocked.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill One country, two systems China has long promised Hong Kong self-rule under the "one country, two systems" motto. But for those in the sprawling city, the extradition bill is the latest in a long line of examples of creeping Chinese control.



rc/rt (AP, AFP, dpa)

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