What next for Hong Kong’s extradition bill protesters?

Weeks in, protesters feel they have little to show for their efforts, even after the storming of the legislative council

As despair sets in, will defiance fade like Occupy Central – or burn only brighter?

Reading Time:9 minutes

Anti-extradition protesters are defiant after storming Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. Since the storming, some have wondered whether their actions achieved anything. Photo: Antony Dickson

Published: 8:15am, 6 Jul 2019Updated: 4:51pm, 6 Jul 2019

David Wong has spent more nights sleeping outside the Hong Kong legislature in recent weeks than he has in his soft, cosy bed at home.

Wong, 24, is among the more dedicated of the protesters demanding the government abandon a bill that would allow for extraditions to mainland China and other places the city does not currently have agreements with. He has spent days on end at the makeshift camps outside the legislature that are the protesters’ de facto headquarters, handing out supplies like umbrellas, goggles, water and food, and discussing with fellow activists the next course of action.

“Last week, I went home to sleep on only three nights,” he said. “But I must come forward to stop this bill.”

His dedication comes at a cost. The freelance audio technician’s monthly income has dropped to just HK$2,000, a tenth of what he would normally expect to make, as his career takes a back seat to his new-found passion.

Wong is no veteran activist; indeed, until last month, he hadn’t attended a single protest. Until he saw the police response to a protest on June 9, when a million people took to the streets to demand Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor withdraw the bill. On that day, one of Wong’s friends was hit with a police baton, and he decided he could stand by no longer.

Wong is among dozens of protesters to have spoken to This Week in Asia about the desperation that drove them to the streets in the largest mass protests to have hit the city. For many, this desperation has grown only worse as their actions have failed to move the government. While they have succeeded in getting the bill shelved, it has not been withdrawn – a key demand of protesters who also want police officers punished for using excessive force, and a guarantee that protesters won’t be charged with rioting, an offence that carried a 10-year jail sentence.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x