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HONG KONG — A mass of protesters stretching for more than a mile marched in Hong Kong on Sunday in a display of anger and fear over a government proposal that could allow extraditions to mainland China.
Turnout at the demonstration in Hong Kong, a city of more than seven million, could exceed the half-million who attended an annual rally in 2014 not long before a pro-democracy sit-in that shut down major roadways for almost three months.
Organizers said they hoped such numbers would show the breadth of disagreement with the plan, which has stirred worries that people in Hong Kong, including foreign visitors, would be sent to face trial in Communist Party-controlled courts in mainland China.
Protesters carrying signs saying, “No evil law” set off from Victoria Park on a sweltering afternoon, with temperatures in the mid-80s and scattered rains providing little relief from the humidity. Many wore white as a symbol of justice and also mourning in Chinese culture.
The police said that at one point officers used pepper spray after five or six masked men tried to occupy a major thoroughfare near the route of the march, the public broadcaster RTHK reported.
The protesters’ numbers were so large that many protesters said they were still stuck in subway stations waiting to join, and some trains were skipping stations because of overcrowding.
More than two hours into the march, as the front of the crowd reached the Hong Kong government headquarters in the Admiralty neighborhood, protesters waited at the starting point inside the park, a mile and a half away, with more people arriving.
The police said 153,000 people had set off from Victoria Park, the march’s starting point. Organizers said they were still counting, but they believed the total number of participants exceeded 500,000.
“I think this law will take away our freedoms if it is implemented,” said Peter Lam, a 16-year-old high school student. “We will not have the right to express ourselves. So we must stand up and express ourselves today.”
Young people and families were prominent in the crowd, with parents bouncing toddlers on their hips and leading young children by the hand. One child clutched a sign saying, “Protect my future.”
The proposed legislation would allow for criminal suspects in some cases to be turned over to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong has no formal extradition agreement. The immediate goal is to enable the government to send a Hong Kong man to Taiwan, where he is accused of killing his girlfriend.
There is widespread agreement on the need for that man to face justice in Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as part of Chinese territory. But there is deep concern about the broader implications of the legislation, particularly enabling extraditions to mainland China.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese control in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” arrangement that allows it to keep its own local institutions.
Hong Kong’s courts are far more transparent and independent than those in the mainland, where President Xi Jinping has been intensifying a crackdown on civil society. Worries about the reach of mainland China’s legal system have been exacerbated by the disappearance of people from Hong Kong into mainland custody, including a Chinese billionaire and men associated with a company that published books unflattering to mainland political leaders.
“Their judicial system is not good,” George Wan, 31, a freelance tour guide and writer at the protest, said of mainland China. He said the Hong Kong government was rushing the legislation through without properly consulting the public.
“We want to use our footsteps to tell the government we want more time,” Mr. Wan said as he waved a folding fan painted with characters that read, “Oppose sending to China.”
Images of the territory’s Beijing-backed chief executive, Carrie Lam, appeared on many protesters’ signs, along with demands that she resign over her support for the extradition proposal. The protest also drew people who normally stay on the sidelines. Lee Kin-long, 46, said he and his wife felt they needed to attend.
“This law is dangerous, and not just for activists,” he said. “We are not activists. Even as regular citizens, we can’t stand to see China eroding away our freedom.”
When footage of Ms. Lam at a news conference was projected on the side of a building with the words “support extradition law,” protesters broke out in jeers and shouted for her to step down.
Opposition to the legislation has been building for weeks, including a scuffle among lawmakers and an April demonstration that was the city’s biggest in five years. Public anger over the issue was also seen as a factor in the high turnout on Tuesday for a candlelight vigil in Victoria Park commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Organizers said the vigil drew more than 180,000 people, while the police said there were no more than 37,000.
Worries about the proposal have inspired hundreds of petitions from student and alumni associations, religious organizations and trade groups. The Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and other press freedom groups have called on the Hong Kong government to abandon or alter the legislation, citing the frequent jailing of journalists in the Chinese mainland. Foreign governments including the United States, Britain and Canada have also expressed concerns.
Lawyers in Hong Kong responded to the legislation on Thursday by dressing in black for a silent protest march. A high court judge who signed a petition organized by University of Hong Kong alumni was reprimanded by the city’s chief justice.
Business associations have expressed fear that the measure would harm Hong Kong’s reputation as a commercial center. The government has responded by removing some economic crimes from the list of extraditable offenses and adjusting the measure so that it applies only to crimes punishable by seven or more years in prison, rather than three years.
The legislation excludes political crimes, and the Hong Kong government has promised to monitor cases for human rights concerns. But many fear that the Chinese authorities could use charges such as bribery to target people who have angered mainland officials.
Protests were also planned for Sunday in several other cities, including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney, Australia.
The last time residents of Hong Kong turned out in such large numbers over a single issue was in 2003, when half a million marchers expressed their opposition to proposed national security legislation prohibiting sedition, subversion and treason against the Chinese government.
That legislation, known as Article 23, was shelved after so many people mobilized against it, arguing that it threatened civil liberties enshrined in Hong Kong’s Constitution. Polling by the University of Hong Kong has indicated that opposition to the extradition plan is even higher.
Pro-democracy lawmakers have said that unless the government backs down, the measure is likely to pass in the local legislature, where pro-Beijing lawmakers hold 43 of 70 seats.
Ivan Choy, a senior lecturer in the department of government and public administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the government was unlikely to be swayed by the public display of opposition.
“The major problem is that Xi Jinping holds power in China, and he is a strongman,” Mr. Choy said. “He will back up Carrie Lam’s decision to push forward.”
“Most people know this reality,” he continued, “but they have come out to show the world that this legislation is not the will of the Hong Kong public.”
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