Clad all in black, close to a thousand protesters, including prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong, gathered at the Hong Kong Central Government Offices in the early morning of June 21, Friday in a peaceful protest to demand for Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s resignation as well as the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill that prompted mass protests a week before. In response to the protest, the Hong Kong government shuttered its headquarters temporarily on Friday as it told government employees to work from home instead to avoid the protests.
The protesters had started to gather at the ground floor of the offices at around 7am in the morning. Protest organisers had also called for fellow citizens to “go slow” on the roads and public transport as a show of support. In addition to the demands for Lam’s resignation, the protesters were also demanding the release of protesters who had been detained in the protests last week.
Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah issued a written apology for the government’s performance on her blog on friday morning.
“I offer my sincere apology to all people of Hong Kong. We promise to adopt a most sincere and humble attitude to accept criticisms and make improvements in serving the public,” wrote Cheng in her post.
“The government still hasn’t responded to our demands. After so many days…they are all talking rubbish and shifting the blame on one another,” said protester Poyee Chan, 28, to AFP.
Lam has admitted shortcomings over the bill but had stated that it might be introduced again in the future.
