Protesters Gather For Day Of 'escalation'

Anti-extradition protesters gathered outside the Legislative Council building in Admiralty on Friday morning for what they say will be a day of 'escalation' in their campaign against proposed changes to the extradition law.

The groups set a 5pm Thursday deadline for the government to address four points, including withdrawal of the extradition bill, the rebuttal of the earlier classification of mass protests last Wednesday as a 'riot', the release without charge of all protesters and an inquiry into policing that day.

The protests were due to start with a sit-in 'picnic' around government buildings in Admiralty from 7am, along with civil disobedience actions including traffic disruption across the SAR, class boycotts and strikes.

By 8am, several hundred people, mostly young and clad in black shirts, were gathering in a protest area outside the Legco building. Some wore masks and had helmet relatively, although an RTHK reporter at the scene described the atmosphere as relatively calm.

Cherry Chan, a high school pupil, joined the gathering at Admiralty. She said: "The most important thing is that we gather as many people here as possible so that we can have the next movement.

"All of us here are concerned about the danger and we all have some kind of mental preparation for that because if any kind of social unrest broke out or any clashes happened I think we should all be prepared."

If the government fails to listen, she said: "People will take actions to another level."

Government offices in Admiralty were closed for the day.

______________________________