In April, an extradition bill was introduced to Hong Kong by China’s mainland government. The bill would have allowed criminals to be expedited to mainland China for trial. This would radically alter the indictment process of criminals and would, more importantly, it infringes upon the fundamentals of justice. Critics said that the bill would lead to unfair trials and facilitate violence against Hong Kongers. Additionally, residents of Hong Kong are worried that this bill represents an imbalance of power and create more control over Hong Kong. As a result, hundreds of thousands took to the streets peacefully protesting. After weeks of protesting and garnering worldwide media coverage, President Xi recalled the bill as a way to appease the growing demonstrations. However, this did not satisfy protesters because feared that the bill would be revived.
As protests escalated, police started using violent tactics and fear mongered to subdue protesters. For example, satellite images were captured of an arsenal made by the Chinese army that would possibly be used for the protests. In September, the bill was formally recalled and, meanwhile, China celebrated 70 successful of communism -- another excuse to flex their military muscle. The streets of Tiananmen Square (the same place where violence had taken place only 30 years ago) were lined with tanks and anti-aircraft missiles -- an endearing threat to the protesters of Hong Kong. However, protesters have held their own and continued to riot despite escalation that even resulted in one protester to be shot in the chest. They have narrowed their demands down to 5 basic ideas: not to have their protests labeled as riots, a pardon for arrested protesters, investigations into police brutality cases during the protests, and ubiquitous suffrage. Besides having the 5th demand met, protesters, have not been successful in reaching other goals. Although the protests have no end in sight, demonstrators remain strong and determined.