Analys: Väljare i Hongkong har demonstrerat sin makt

The 2019 Hong Kong protests, also known as the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) movement, are an ongoing series of demonstrations in Hong Kong which were triggered by the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill by the Hong Kong government. If enacted, the bill would have let local authorities detain and extradite criminal fugitives who are wanted in territories with which Hong Kong does not currently have extradition agreements, including Taiwan and mainland China. This created concerns that the bill would subject Hong Kong residents and visitors to the mainland Chinese jurisdiction and legal system, undermining the region's autonomy and Hong Kong people's civil liberties. As the protests progressed, the protesters laid out five key demands, which include the withdrawal of the bill, investigation into alleged police brutality and misconduct, the release of arrested protesters, a complete retraction of the official characterisation of the protests as "riots", and Chief Executive Carrie Lam's resignation along with the introduction of universal suffrage for election of the Legislative Council and the Chief Executive.Despite the sizeable mass demonstration for the withdrawal of the bill on 9 June, the government insisted it would keep pushing the bill. Protesters gathered outside the Legislative Council Complex to stall the bill's second reading on 12 June, which resulted in intense standoff between the protesters and the police, who have deployed tear gas and rubber bullets. An even bigger march took place on 16 June, just one day after the suspension of the bill, as protesters insisted on the complete withdrawal of the bill and focused the alleged excessive use of force by the police on 12 June. The anniversary of the handover on 1 July marked the storming of the LegCo Complex which was largely viewed as a watershed moment for the protest. Subsequently, protests continued throughout the summer, spreading to different districts which were met with the confrontations involving the police, activists on both sides, suspected triad gangs, and local residents. Police operations and alleged misconduct, including its inaction when suspected triad members assaulted protesters and commuters in Yuen Long on 21 July and the storming of Prince Edward station on 31 August have further escalated the protests.Lam suspended the extradition bill on 15 June and declared the bill "dead" on 9 July, but resisted withdrawing it until 4 September. The bill was finally withdrawn on 23 October, but the government refused to concede on the other four demands. As the protests dragged on, confrontations escalated as both sides became increasingly violent. Large-scale demonstrations occurred on 1 October (National Day), the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, when an 18-year-old student protester was shot whilst attempting to hit a police officer. Intending to curb protests, Lam invoked the Emergency Regulations Ordinance on 4 October to implement an anti-mask law, to counterproductive effects, resulting in citywide conflicts that occurred throughout October. The unsolved deaths of students Chan Yin-lam and Alex Chow, as well as a policeman shooting an unarmed 21-year-old student protester, further intensified the protests, where the protesters occupied university campuses and blocked the nearby traffic. The police retaliated by besieging the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) which resulted in high number of injuries from both sides and mass arrests.The protests have been largely described as "leaderless" and protesters have upheld the fluid "be water" principle and used various tactics to pressure the government, which, alongside the police, have received the lowest approval ratings since the 1997 handover in public opinion polls. The Central People's Government has indicated that it sees the protests as the "worst crisis in Hong Kong" since the handover in 1997. The protests have resulted in two deaths, and several suicides.