HONG KONG: Hong Kong is gearing up for an annual pro-democracy march on Monday, the anniversary of its handover to Beijing, that could see a big crowd amid widespread anger over an extradition bill that has already seen millions take to the streets.
In recent years, the anniversary of the handover of the former British colony in 1997 has been marked by deepening despondency about what many residents see as increasing meddling by the mainland and the erosion of freedoms.
Beijing denies interfering but for many Hong Kong residents a proposed extradition law, that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial, is the latest step in a relentless march toward mainland control.
“If Hong Kong is no longer an international city, Hong Kong will perish,” former opposition lawmaker Margaret Ng said at a rally late on Friday.
“It’s our responsibility to let the world know.”
Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, who is backed by Beijing, promoted and then suspended the extradition bill after some of the biggest and most violent protests in the city in decades against it.
Lam apologized to the public for the upheaval the bill had caused and while she said she had heard the people “loud and clear,” she stopped short of activists’ demands to scrap it and rejected calls to step down.
Activists are also demanding the government drop all charges against those arrested during the latest protests, charge police with what they describe as excessive use of force and stop referring to the demonstrations as a riot, a term than can bring a heavier jail sentence.
Organizers of Monday’s anniversary march say they are confident that anger over the city government’s failure to withdraw the extradition bill will fuel numbers.
More than a million people have taken to the streets at times over the past three weeks to vent their anger and frustration at Lam, posing the greatest popular challenge to Chinese leader Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
Threat and fear
Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, under a “one country, two systems” formula that allows freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including freedom of protest and a much-cherished independent judiciary.
Opponents of the extradition bill see it as a threat to the rule of law and fear it would put them at the mercy of China’s justice system where human rights are not guaranteed.
After promises that post-handover Hong Kong would enjoy autonomy, Beijing’s squeeze has fueled resentment and in 2014 sparked pro-democracy protests that paralyzed parts of the city for 79 days.
The failure of those protests to wrestle concessions on democracy, coupled with prosecutions of at least 100 protesters, most of them young, had discouraged many activists from going back to the streets — until recent weeks.
The turnout at the handover protest in 2018 was one of the lowest ever after Hong Kong’s opposition lost steam following the disqualification of pro-democracy legislators and the jailing of some of the most prominent activists.
Organizers said about 50,000 people rallied last year, while police put the number at 9,800 at its peak.
Extradition bill fury likely to fuel numbers at Hong Kong annual rally
Extradition bill fury likely to fuel numbers at Hong Kong annual rally
- In recent years, many Hong Kong residents see an increasing meddling by China and the erosion of freedoms
- The recent protest in Hong Kong was the greatest popular challenge to Chinese leader Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012
Iran hacking group claims attack on US medical company
- It issued an open warning to what it described as “Zionist leaders and their lobbies,” adding: “This is only the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare.”
WASHINGTON: An Iran-linked hacking group claimed responsibility on Wednesday for a sweeping cyberattack on US medical technology giant Stryker, saying it had wiped more than 200,000 systems and extracted 50 terabytes of data in retaliation for military strikes on Iran.
“Our major cyber operation has been executed with complete success,” Handala said in a statement, describing the attack as retaliation for what it called “the brutal attack on the Minab school” and for “ongoing cyber assaults against the infrastructure of the Axis of Resistance.”
The group said it had shut down Stryker offices in 79 countries and that all extracted data was “now in the hands of the free people of the world.”
It issued an open warning to what it described as “Zionist leaders and their lobbies,” adding: “This is only the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare.”
Founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Stryker is a global medical device giant with some 56,000 employees and $25.12 billion in 2025 revenues, making everything from orthopedic implants and surgical instruments to hospital beds and robotic surgery systems.
The Handala group later posted that it had also carried out an attack on Verifone, which specializes in electronic and point-of-sale payments.
The outages began shortly after 0400 GMT on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Windows devices — including laptops and mobile phones connected to Stryker’s networks — were remotely wiped.
