Protesters Surround Police HQ After G20 Rally

About a thousand protesters surrounded police headquarters in Wan Chai on Wednesday night following an anti-extradition rally in Central, demanding justice over allegations of excessive force and arrests.

Chanting slogans such as "Hong Kong police knowingly break the law", the demonstrators said they would stay put until Thursday morning, when they planned to go to Justice Place in Central.

Some people spray-painted CCTV cameras to prevent video recording, and makeshift barriers were erected outside the main gates. There had been no reports of serious incidents by 1am Thursday, but at least two legislators had positioned themselves at the main entrance to act as "buffers" if tensions got out of control.

The crowd demanded the release of all those arrested in clashes with police earlier this month, and for Police Commissioner Stephen Lo to come and meet them face-to-face.

Tensions have been running high over allegations of police brutality during the June 12 demonstration outside Legco, as well as the classification of the protest as a riot. However officers say their actions were justified as demonstrators were throwing bricks and steel bars while trying to storm the building.

Earlier, thousands of people had turned out for an assembly in Edinburgh Place aimed at encouraging world leaders at the G20 summit to put pressure on the central and SAR governments. However, Beijing has said that discussion of Hong Kong is strictly off limits at the meeting, which starts on Friday.

At the rally, a manifesto relating to the bill was stated in several languages used by G20 countries. Later, demonstrators chanted slogans such as "Free Hong Kong" and "Withdraw the evil bill".

One protester explained why she turned out again: "I don't want to give up even though three weeks have passed and people always say Hong Kong people are very forgetful. But I don't want to let people forget this issue as this bill can return any time."

Another demonstrator said: "I want to join this rally because the government didn't respond at all to our demands. We need to tell the world that Hong Kong needs the world to know what's happened here."

Because of the high turnout for the rally, the organisers asked people to walk from Admiralty MTR station, as the exits at Central were overcrowded and blocked.

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