HK democracy movement faces triple threat

HONG KONG AFP, 9 June, 2020 -  Several thousand demonstrators marched in Hong Kong on Tuesday evening -- defying authorities a year after huge pro-democracy protests erupted -- as the movement struggles in the face of arrests, coronavirus bans on crowds and a looming national security law.   

Seven months of massive and often violent rallies kicked off on June 9 last year when as many as a million people took to the streets to oppose a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China.   

As city leaders dug in, battles between police and protesters became routine, leaving the financial hub’s reputation for stability in tatters and swathes of the population in open revolt against Beijing’s rule.   

Defiant crowds a few-thousand strong gathered on Tuesday evening in the city’s upmarket Central district to march and chant slogans. Riot police were quick to close in and the crowds quickly dispersed, with scattered arrests made.