Violence over extradition bill escalates in Hong Kong as police fire tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters
HONG KONG - Acrid clouds of tear gas still hung in the air as Avery Cheng crouched to the floor, weeping, on a pedestrian overpass. Crowds of young protesters in T-shirts and surgical masks sprinted past, coughing and splashing water in their eyes.
Armored police in riot gear marched toward the running crowds, shooting rubber bullets, bean bags and tear gas canisters, then chasing the mostly unarmed youth with batons and pepper spray.
The protesters ran, rubbing their eyes, then stopped to turn and chant, "Retract! Retract!" Riot police continued to advance.
"This is just so cruel," said the 19-year-old Cheng.
He'd come to Hong Kong's legislative center in the morning to protest an extradition bill that would allow China to bring people from Hong Kong to the mainland for trial. Hongkongers fear that would be the end of freedom of speech and assembly that Hong Kong maintains as a semiautonomous region.
More than a million people marched in protest against the bill on Sunday, according to organizers. Yet, Hong
