Hong Kong protesters urge world leaders to support them at G20 summit

Carrying signs reading “Liberate Hong Kong,” activists at an evening assembly, many of them wearing black, sang protest anthems and called on G20 leaders to defend their rights. The demonstrators hope their efforts will get the bill onto the G20 agenda, despite a top Chinese foreign ministry official saying that Beijing would not allow it.

Although city leader Carrie Lam announced over a week ago that the government would suspend the bill, opponents want to see it scrapped entirely. They are also calling for the police to be investigated for alleged brutality after officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas this month at a crowd that had surrounded the government headquarters.

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.