'Sunday's Mass Rally Will Go Ahead As Planned'

The Civil Human Rights Front, which is planning to stage a large demonstration on Sunday to oppose the controversial amendments to the extradition bill, said the march will go ahead as scheduled.

The group’s deputy convenor, Bonnie Leung, said “suspending” the planned amendments isn’t good enough because the government can re-table them to Legco at any moment.

She stressed officials must withdraw the plan altogether, adding that people should also take to the streets to express their anger with the police’s violent handling of protesters during the clashes which broke out on Wednesday outside the Legislative Council.

Around 80 people were hurt in the clashes, including around 20 police officers. The Police Commissioner, Stephen Lo, had earlier said 150 rounds of tear gas, several rounds of rubber bullets, and around 20 bean bag shots were fired to restore order.

She added that it was wholly inappropriate for the administration to call the clashes a riot, saying most of the protesters were expressing their demands peacefully.

"We want the government to withdraw the saying that the protesters are rioters. They say that on the 12th of June, it was a riot. So we demand the government to withdraw that saying", she said.