Just a few days before Wednesday's second reading of a controversial Bill on changes to an extradition law in the Legislative Council, a record number of Hong Kong residents took to the streets yesterday in a last-ditch attempt to pressure the government into shelving the legislation.
The turnout at the rally was said to be the biggest since the 1997 handover. Organisers estimated that the crowd surpassed the 500,000 who marched in 2003 against a national security law that was later canned.
Yesterday's rally, which lasted more than five hours, saw protesters marching to the government headquarters in Admiralty. They surrounded the complex and demanded that the authorities back down on the proposals, saying these would damage the rule of law in the city.
