HONG KONG – An anti-extradition march in Sha Tin in Hong Kong’s New Territories was expected to take place on Sunday (July 14), despite clashes the previous day which saw police use batons and pepper spray against protestors.

Calls for protests over the weekend were circulated earlier last week by netizens, who have also sent out memos asking everyone to wear black to make it hard for the police to identify them.

Sunday’s protest will begin after 2.30pm, starting from Che Kung Temple and finishing at the main bus terminal.

Saturday’s clashes followed a largely peaceful rally in Sheung Shui, a town near the border with Shenzhen.

Organisers said some 30,000 black-clad protesters turned up to voice their unhappiness against parallel importers, as well as plans to amend extradition laws, although the police pegged the number at 4,000.

In a statement around midnight, the government condemned the violence by a small group of protesters, who it accused of deliberately blocking roads after the procession, hurling iron poles, scattering powder, charging police cordon lines and assaulting officers.

Protesters blame the government and local district council, both dominated by pro-establishment figures, for allowing rampant tax evasion by parallel traders.

These importers, mainly of pharmaceutical products and cosmetics, reap huge profits by selling on the mainland their duty-free stocks bought in Hong Kong.

But the government said in the statement that it has introduced measures to limit the nuisance caused by parallel trading activities to the daily lives of local residents, including stepping up efforts in enforcement, enhancing immigration control and improving street cleaning service.

MEDIA PROTEST

On Sunday morning, hundreds of journalists joined a silent march demanding better treatment from the police at protests and a stronger support of press freedom from the government, public broadcaster RTHK reported.

The journalists marched from Harcourt Garden in Central to the police headquarters in Wan Chai as well as the government headquarters in Admiralty. The march was organised by seven groups including RTHK’s staff union, the Journalists Association, and the Press Photographers Association.

Members of the media have complained about being shoved and insulted by police officers during their coverage of the anti-extradition protests, and, in some cases, hit by batons or bean bags.

CONTROVERSIAL BILL

For more than a month, Hong Kong has been wracked with protests sparked by Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s move to introduce amendments to the existing extradition law.

These would allow for suspects to be transferred from Hong Kong to other jurisdictions for prosecution, including to China, where people fear they will not get a fair trial.

Tensions peaked on June 12, when violent clashes resulted in the police firing rubber bullets and tear gas. They again soared on July 1, the 22nd anniversary of the handover of the territory by the British to the Chinese, when a small group of protesters stormed the LegCo, broke in and vandalised the chambers.

Dozens have been injured and arrested in recent weeks.

Mrs Lam has said that those who broke the law will not be granted amnesty and that prosecutorial decisions will be made independently.

On July 9, Mrs Lam sought to lay to rest lingering talk that the passing of the Bill could still be restarted in the legislature. “So, I reiterate here, there is no such thing. The Bill is dead,” she said, stopping short of giving in to protesters’ demands that the Bill be withdrawn.

Protesters are demanding that the government fully withdraw the Bill and not just suspend it indefinitely; retract the label of June 12 as a riot; release all protesters arrested so far; conduct an inquiry into allegations of police brutality; and for universal suffrage.

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