A public park in Hong Kong on Sunday overflowed with thousands of protesters calling for electoral reforms and a boycott of the Chinese Communist Party.
Sporting their movement's trademark black clothing and face masks, rally participants packed into Chater Garden, not far from the city's Legislative Council building. They held up signs that read “Free Hong Kong" and waved American and British flags.
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A public park in Hong Kong on Sunday overflowed with thousands of protesters calling for electoral reforms and a boycott of the Chinese Communist Party.
Frictions between democracy-minded Hong Kongers and the Communist Party-ruled central government in Beijing came to a head last June, when proposed extradition legislation sparked months of often violent mass demonstrations.
A man waves U.S. and the Hong Kong colonial flags ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
A masked man argues with police ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
Hong Kong men prepare protest themed clocks made from vinyl records ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
Hong Kong men prepare protest themed clocks made from vinyl records ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. While the framework of “one country, two systems" promises the territory greater democratic rights than are afforded to the mainland, protesters say their freedoms have been steadily eroding under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Riot police chase a masked man ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
Frictions between democracy-minded Hong Kongers and the Communist Party-ruled central government in Beijing came to a head last June, when proposed extradition legislation sparked months of often violent mass demonstrations.
The bill — which would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial — has since been withdrawn, but protests have continued for eight months around demands for voting rights and an independent inquiry into police conduct.
The Hong Kong police gave approval for Sunday's rally, but not for a march that organizers also are planning.
Riot police chase and corner a masked man who fell as another man tries to assist him ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
A man waves U.S. and the Hong Kong colonial flags ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
A masked man argues with police ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
Hong Kong men prepare protest themed clocks made from vinyl records ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
Hong Kong men prepare protest themed clocks made from vinyl records ahead of a rally demanding electoral democracy and call for boycott of the Chinese Communist Party and all businesses seen to support it in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Hong Kong has been wracked by often violent anti-government protests since June, although they have diminished considerably in scale following a landslide win by opposition candidates in races for district councilors late last year. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)