Hong Kong officials announced on Wednesday that the controversial extradition bill -- which would have given the Hong Kong government authority to extradite Hong Kong individuals back to mainland communsit China -- has been withdrawn from consideration. However, it is unlikely that the mass protests conducted by pro-independence Hong Kongers will stop any time soon. The anti-communist demonstrators have a list of five demands they say must be met by the city-state's government.
"Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam had said many times the extradition bill was as good as dead and that other demands, including universal suffrage and an amnesty for all those charged with rioting, were beyond her control," according to Reuters.
"There aren’t any big differences between suspension and withdrawal of the extradition bill... It’s too little, too late," a 27-year-old protester named Connie told The Independent. "There are still other demands the government needs to meet, especially the problem of police brutality."
The Hong Kong protests have been raging all summer and have sparked international outcry. As seen in the video below, these demonstrations have largely been a pan-generational protest, meaning youth and elder Hong Kongers largely support the fight for freedom.
Uncle Wong is 82 years old, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to protect protesters in Hong Kong.
— DW News (@dwnews) October 23, 2019
"I don’t fear death. Not when the children are out here fighting for democracy." pic.twitter.com/a5ZgKnkiiC
Chinese communist president Xi Jinping earlier this month sent a veiled message to Hong Kongers and international allies of the movement, saying that anybody who tried :to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones."
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