These protest were misguided. This was about extraditing actual criminals. The criminal in question is convicted of bribing officials in Macao. They were protesting to let a convicted criminal remain at large in HK.
If the guy, Joseph Lau had fled to the US/UK/u/NZ/Fr/It/Gr he’d be extradited. Even wimpy Canada extradites to the PRC. Hong Kong is a city in China. That he can flee here is unconscionable.
Look, there are 40,000 PLA troops in HK. If the PRC didn’t want to play by the rules they could have just marched a few dozen of them over to the hotel where Joseph Lau is hiding grabbed him.
Yes, China is a country with issues regarding its legal system. But on the whole, those issues are no grater than the criminals like Hillary Clinton getting away with theft and murder in the US.
Many of the protester were paid. My niece made $1800 Hong Kong dollars and got a free lunch to attend.
Please educate yourself with all the widely available info before you spread your falsehoods. Your entire post is nothing but BS.
The protests are not misguided, as you suggest. Joseph Lau was convicted in absentia in Macao while he was in Hong Kong. There is no functional distinction between requesting rendition of a suspect versus a convict. Communist China wants to be able to extradict anyone charged with a crime that is punishable with a sentence of seven years or more, which is a list of offenses that include political crimes. The communists want to be able to grab people under colour of law, since they they do not wish to kill their golden goose: the Hong Kong money maker.