Violence erupts during Hong Kong protest against China extradition bill

Scenes of violence between police forces and demonstrators were witnessed outside Hong Kong's Legislative Council on Sunday during a protest march against the recently proposed extradition rules by the Chinese government.

After nearly ten hours of peaceful protest, demonstrators charged police barriers to force their way into Legislative council building shortly after midnight. The police responded with batons and pepper spray on the mob, reported South China Morning Post.

In what could be the biggest march in the city in the past 15 years, demonstrators had gathered in central Hong Kong on Sunday afternoon, to protest against the China extradition bill that would allow criminal suspects in the city to be sent to mainland China for trial.

On April 3, Hong Kong had proposed this bill, which, critics believe, will leave anyone on Hong Kong soil vulnerable to being grabbed by the Chinese authorities for political reasons or inadvertent business offences.

They further reason that the newly framed extradition plan would dissolve the rights and legal protections, which were guaranteed under the city's handover from British colonial rule to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Similar protests were observed on Sunday in many Australian cities as well. Hong Kong political group Demosisto said in a statement that more such protests are planned in other cities around the world.

The extent of the opposition to the bill is such that even the business groups in Hong Kong, who generally take a neutral stance on political issues, have also spoken out against the bill.

.