– Hong Kong protesters rallied outside diplomatic missions on Thursday to urge foreign governments to follow the United States in passing human rights bills to raise pressure on Beijing and support their pro-democracy campaign.
About 1,000 people, most of them dressed in black and wearing face masks, marched on a route that took them by the consulates of Australia, Britain, the European Union, the United States, Japan and Canada, to drop off a petition. The marchers’ petition called on governments to “stand with Hong Kong” by passing legislation to introduce visa sanctions and freeze assets of Chinese and Hong Kong government officials.
The US legislation, which also threatens sanctions for human rights violations, came after similar “citizen diplomacy” petitions in Hong Kong this year to the US consulate and has been cheered by protesters waving the stars and stripes flag. Thursday marks the 35th anniversary of a treaty between China and Britain on Hong Kong’s future, that set the stage for its 1997 handover.
Beijing denies interfering in Hong Kong and says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula put in place as a result of the 1984 treaty that guarantees a high degree of autonomy.