The ‘Onset of the Storm’: Key Dates and Events of the Early Stages of Hong Kong’s Political Unrest
The article is part of the 'Hong Kong: One Year Ago Today' initiative which aims to raise awareness for the movement and also to debunk some myths regarding the movement’s origins and core elements.
The thumbnail picture was taken by photojournalist 陳焯煇 from Initium Media who was recently awarded Best News Photography Collection in the 2020 Taiwan Press Photography Competition
The following article will shed light on the significant events that took place at the beginning of the political unrest in Hong Kong. This period was marked by a mixture of government-sanctioned demonstrations, which became increasingly rare as the movement progressed, and unsanctioned rallies. Roots of prolonged turmoil were evident during this initial period as actions taken by the anti-government protests continued to escalate due to the government’s repeated refusal to listen to the demands made by the demonstrators.
6.9 March
This march is seen by many as the beginning of the political crisis that would continue to destabilise Hong Kong for the following year. However, it was not the first organised demonstration against the Extradition Bill. Two demonstrations were previously held by the Civil Human Rights Front, the organiser of the June 9th March and many more to follow in late March and April respectively.
It is, however, the first rally that drew widespread attention, with demonstrators flooding the North Coast of Hong Kong Island as they marched along a three-kilometre route from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to the Government Headquarters in Admiralty. The demonstration was at the time one with the biggest turnout in Hong Kong’s history. with 1 million taking to the streets, as claimed by the organiser.
This feat was only topped by the rally supporting the Tiananmen Protests back in 1989, which had an attendance of 1.5 million people. Whilst the Police had said the turnout was only 240,000, the sheer number of attendees made it one of the largest rallies in recent history. Many people said they were joining a protest for the first time in their lives.
The protest concluded on the whole peacefully. However, when the permit for the sanctioned protest expired, clashes between some protesters and the police broke out.
Image Source: Philip Fong/AFP
6.12 General Strike and Legislative Council Clashes
The first major violent clashes between the demonstrators and the police took place on 12th June. On the day, a general strike was called as the government planned to resume the legislation on the Extradition Bill. Crowds blocked the roads near the Legislative Council (Hong Kong’s equivalent of Parliament) in hopes of stopping the proceedings of the legislation. The unauthorised protests were suppressed by riot police with rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray. 72 people were injured in the violent protest, with one protestor shot in the eye with rubber bullets by the police.
The Civil Human Rights Front organised another peaceful rally in the nearby CITIC Tower. Whilst it had received police approval, the police also fired teargas at the protestors, forcing them to break into the CITIC Tower as panic ensued.
The head of police later declared the clashes a ‘riot’. Amnesty International criticised Hong Kong Police for excessive and unnecessary use of force as well as obstructing journalists onsite.
The Extradition Bill meeting was cancelled as a result of the clashes.
Image Source: HKFP/Apple Daily
6.16 March
The march on 16th June was again organised by the Civil Human Rights Front. It took place one day after the city’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, announced the suspension of the Extradition Bill. Protestors remained unsatisfied and took matters to the streets again as people feared the government could quickly resume the legislative proceedings. Furthermore, allegations of police brutality regarding its handling of clashes on 12th June seemingly helped fuel the anti-government sentiment.
The demonstrators responded to the 6.12 incident and Carrie Lam’s suspension of the Extradition Bill with the ‘Five Demands’ which demanded: the complete withdrawal of the Extradition Bill, an independent inquiry into police brutality, the withdrawal of the ‘riot classification’ of the 6.12 clashes and universal suffrage. Protestors also paid tribute to Marco Leung Ling-kit, who fell to his death after unfurling a banner condemning Carrie Lam and the Extradition Bill the day before.
Read more about the ‘Five Demands’ and also the incident involving Marco Leung Ling-kit in the News piece ‘Co-authoring the space: demonstrators’ creative expression and other associated features of the Hong Kong Anti-extradition demonstrations’
6.16 was the biggest demonstration in Hong Kong’s history and broke the two records set by the 1989 rally supporting Tiananmen Square Protest and the million-people march that took place just one week earlier. Whilst the organisers, the Civil Human Rights Front, claimed 2 million people joined the demonstration, police says the turnout was 338,000 at its peak. Crowds once again flooded the North Coast of Hong Kong Island as they followed the same three-kilometre route from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to the Government Headquarters in Admiralty. The protests concluded peacefully.
Image Source: Robert Ng/SCMP
6.21 Police Headquarters Siege
On this day, the Police Headquarters was besieged by thousands of protestors for a continuous 15 hours, as resentment mounted. Some threw eggs and wrote slogans on the walls of the police headquarters building before eventually dispersing. Hong Kong Police slammed the blockade as illegal.
Image Credits: Edmond So/SCMP
6.26 G20 Summit Assembly
G20 Summit Assembly was held ahead of the 2019 G20 Summit to appeal for foreign support. The demonstrators hoped their efforts would get the situation of Hong Kong onto the G20 agenda, despite a top Chinese foreign ministry official saying that Beijing would not allow it. Coupled with the international advertisement campaign that took place during the same period, this also marked the start of the ‘international front’, which refers to the movement’s appeal for support and solidarity abroad.
Read more about the involvement of foreign actors in the Insight article, ‘The ‘Limp and Inane’ versus the ‘Outspoken’: Foreign Government Reactions to the Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Demonstrations and Whether They Have Changed Since’
The Assembly was government-sanctioned and was again organised by the Civil Human Rights Front. Earlier on the same day, some protestors marched to different consulates to lobby at foreign representatives.
Image Credits: HKFP/Reuters
6.30 ‘Safeguard Hong Kong’ Pro-Police Rally
This was the first major pro-government demonstration since the beginning of the Extradition Bill Crisis. The organisers claimed that 316,000 attended while the police said that only 103,000 participated in the rally. Demonstrators, mostly middle-aged or older, bore heavy rain and thunderstorms to gather at the city’s 4-acre Tamar Park, near the Legislative Council Building; the same building that the anti-government protestors besieged earlier the same month. Many local celebrities also appeared in the rally, calling for an end to violence in the city’s political crisis.
Read more about ‘Lennon Walls’ as a key feature of the movement in the News piece ‘Co-authoring the space: demonstrators’ creative expression and other associated features of the Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Demonstrations’
Image Credits: BBC/Getty Images
7.1 Annual March and the Storming of LegCo
The July 1st Hong Kong Protests are annual rallies organised by the Civil Human Rights Front and have taken place since the Handover of Hong Kong in 1997. The 2019 July 1st Protest coincided with the Anti-extradition Bill Protests. Pro-democracy protestors once again took to the streets to ask for their “Five Demands”. Organisers claimed that 550 000 took part in the peaceful protests on the handover anniversary, but the police put the figure at 190 000.
Meanwhile, a group of confrontational protestors stormed the Legislative Council Building, unsettling some peaceful protestors at the time. Some pro-democracy lawmakers attempted to stop the move but ultimately failed. The group defaced the building and raised a British Colonial Flag.
Image Credits: Todd R. Darling/HKFP
Disclaimer: Some sources were only available in Chinese. Some sources include articles that are behind the paywall of different newsagents, UCL students are able to access these articles by using Nexis with UCL login details.
Editors' Note:
As a blanket disclaimer for the entire ‘Hong Kong: One Year Ago Today’ initiative, we will not be disclosing the identities of any of the contributors to the initiative. We thank everyone who has submitted a piece of their own work and we apologise for not being able to openly accredit you for your contributions.