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Hong Kong Protesters Take Message to US Consulate
Pro-democracy activists rallied outside the United States consulate in Hong Kong Sunday as they try to ramp up international pressure on Beijing following three months of huge and sometimes violent protests.
Millions have taken to Hong Kong's streets over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China's rule since the city's handover from Britain in 1997.
The protests were ignited by a now scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland, seen by opponents as the latest move by Beijing to chip away at the international finance hub's unique freedoms.
But after Beijing and city leaders took a hard line, the movement snowballed into a broader campaign calling for greater democracy, police accountability and an amnesty for those arrested.
A huge crowd, some waving the Stars and Stripes flag, rallied in a park in Hong Kong's commercial district and marched to Washington's nearby consulate.
They called on the U.S. to pressure Beijing to meet their demands and for Congress to pass a recently proposed bill that expresses support for the protest.
"More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested. We can't do anything but come out onto the streets, I feel hopeless," 30-year-old protester Jenny Chan, told AFP.
"I think aside from foreign countries, no one can really help us," she added.
September 08, 2019 at 05:20PM
