Hong Kong protesters push for pressure on China at G20 summit

Protesters take part in a rally in Hong Kong early today NZT. Photo / AP

Protesters in Hong Kong sought to rally nations to their side at the upcoming Group of 20 summit, hoping to spur international pressure on China over a proposal to allow extraditions to the mainland.

The appeals for leaders to confront China at the G20 summit is likely to further anger Beijing amid Chinese claims of foreign meddling helping stoke the Hong Kong protests.

Beijing has said that its leaders will not discuss the bill during the summit, which begins tomorrow in Osaka, Japan.

Protesters surrounded police headquarters in Hong Kong in another public display of frustrations.

Earlier, hundreds of people moved through the city streets to stop at consulates to deliver letters calling for foreign governments to address their concerns at the summit.

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's pro-Beijing chief executive, has suspended the extradition bill, which would allow for case-by-case transfers to mainland China. But Lam has not fully withdrawn the measure.

Many believe the bill would be a massive blow to the "one country, two systems" framework enacted in 1997 when the semiautonomous state was handed back from Britain to China.

The political crisis has tanked Lam's approval ratings, according to a survey released this week by the Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong. The poll found Lam's approval rating is 23 per cent with a disapproval rate of 67 per cent.

At a rally early today NZT, thousands of demonstrators crowded into a park in central Hong Kong and spilled into nearby roadways calling for international support.

People held their mobile phones in the air singing Do You Hear the People Sing? from the musical Les Misérables.

"As world leaders world leaders meet at the G20 summit, Hong Kong citizens now urge all of you, including [Chinese President] Xi Jingping, to answer our humble questions: Does Hong Kong deserve democracy? Should Hong Kong people enjoy democracy?" said a statement from the Civil Human Rights Front, organisers of the rally.

A crowdfunding campaign raised more than US$860,000 to buy ads in major international newspapers warning of the threat that the extradition bill poises to Hong Kong residents.

Organisers of the ad campaign, calling themselves Freedom Hong Kong, said that they had purchased large advertisements in major newspapers including the New York Times.

Later, hundreds of demonstrators surrounded the Hong Kong Police Force headquarters for the second time in less than a week, blocking entrance gates with metal barricades and walls of umbrellas. Some protesters spray painted graffiti on police buildings, others shown strobe lights and lasers through the windows.

"Maybe the pressure from foreign governments can help Hong Kong," said a protester who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals from authorities. "I want them to save Hong Kong along with the Hong Kong people."