Amid protests and general strike, Hong Kong's leader says city is nearing a 'dangerous situation'


Protesters are filling the streets of Hong Kong, joined by civil servants, teachers, pilots, construction workers, and others participating in a general strike across seven districts.
Demonstrators have blocked roads and trains, and almost 200 flights in and out of Hong Kong have been canceled. The protests were first sparked nine weeks ago by a proposed bill that would have allowed extradition of people arrested in Hong Kong to China. That bill has been suspended, but demonstrators are calling on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam to completely withdraw the bill, launch a third-party investigation into police abuse of power, and drop all charges for the protesters who have been arrested. Lam on Monday said due to the protests, Hong Kong is "on the verge of a very dangerous situation," and called for an end to "such extensive disruptions."
After British rule ended in 1997, Hong Kong went back to Chinese control. Hong Kong and China are supposed to operate under a "one country, two systems" policy, but protesters say Beijing is influencing Hong Kong's government more and more. Hong Kong's chief executive is picked by a small election committee, and protesters and pro-democracy lawmakers are calling for universal suffrage. If the people could vote for their leader, "we wouldn't have chosen a chief executive like this," legislator Claudia Mo said Monday. "If we had universal suffrage, Carrie Lam wouldn't have been so firm to push forward the extradition bill after a million people protested."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Book reviews: 'America, América: A New History of the New World' and 'Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson'
Feature A historian tells a new story of the Americas and the forgotten story of a pioneering preacher
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
-
Trump blames Biden for tariffs-linked contraction
speed read The US economy shrank 0.3% in the first three months of 2025, the Commerce Department reported
-
Trump says he could bring back Ábrego García but won't
Speed Read At a rally to mark his 100th day in office, the president doubled down on his unpopular immigration and economic policies
-
Canada's Liberals, Carney win national election
Speed Read The party of Prime Minister Mark Carney beat Conservative Pierre Poilievre thanks in part to Trump's trade war