Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in the city center and marched to consulates of G20 nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, to deliver letters urging leaders to back their bid for the full withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill.
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Hong Kong over the past two weeks to protest a government extradition bill, which many fear could be used to deport political activists and dissidents to mainland China.
It’s still unclear whether the issue will be brought up during the G20 talks, which will take place Friday and Saturday.
“Hong Kong affairs are Chinese domestic affairs. Any foreign force has no right to interfere in this,” Zhang said.
A month of protests
After the assembly wrapped Wednesday evening, a group of demonstrators continued their rally outside the Hong Kong Police Headquarters, unfurling a white banner that read “Release arrested protesters, f**k the popo.”
Police appealed to protesters not to block emergency vehicles or rescue services, calling on the crowd to act “peacefully and orderly when expressing their views.”
On at least three occasions this month, Hong Kong’s city center has been brought to a standstill by people protesting the bill. According to organizer estimates, two mass marches in June attracted over 1 million people in the city of 7 million.
The Legislative Council — Hong Kong’s Parliament — closed for a number of days in response to the protests.
International support
On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, candidate for leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, said the UK would not issue any further licenses for crowd control equipment to Hong Kong until concerns about human rights and fundamental freedoms had been addressed.
Speaking in UK Parliament, Hunt said he had raised his concerns with Lam and urged the Hong Kong government to establish a robust, independent investigation into the violent protests this month.
CNN’s Sarah Faidell and Eliza Mackintosh contributed to this report.