Protest Group Offers Apology For Inconvenience

Around ten young anti-extradition campaigners turned up at Revenue Tower in Wan Chai again on Tuesday – but this time not to disrupt things, but to apologise for the inconvenience caused to the public by Monday's protests in the area.

A large group of protesters had held demonstrations at Revenue Tower and Immigration Tower on Monday, affecting work there and stopping many people from going into the government offices.

Some of the people affected by the protests were angry while some others said they understood the reason for such actions.

On Tuesday, about a dozen youngsters came to the previous day's protest site and distributed handbills near Revenue Tower, saying they apologise for their inconvenience caused by their non-cooperation movement.

One of them, who gave her name as Rachel and said she is from Baptist University, revealed that the protesters are trying to find new ways to carry out their actions in ways that will not affect the common people.

"We can't tell what we will do in the future. But we are trying to make our protests [without] blocking anyone," she said.

But if it is not working, then we have to resort to such steps, she said. "We hope the public will understand that."

An officer working in Revenue Tower said he did not agree with protesters' action as their demands have nothing to do with tax.

The officer, surnamed Lo, said the protesters should not carry out their actions there as it greatly affected their operation.

But a worker in the Immigration Department, surnamed Tang, held a different view and said she thinks such non-cooperation movements can raise public awareness about the extradition bill issue.

She said she agrees with what the protesters are doing and wants the officials to listen to their demands.

"If you don't do anything or we just listen to the government, that means it is a dictatorship of some kind," Tang said.