Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) announced on September 4 that she would withdraw the controversial extradition bill, except it was too late.
The months-long demonstrations in Hong Kong have been met by increasing police brutality and even gang violence against protesters. Anti-extradition protests turned into a full-fledged pro-democracy movement, encompassing dissatisfactions of the population that go far beyond the bill that was repealed.
Protesters in Hong Kong are demanding higher autonomy for the territory in a similar way to other pro-democracy protests that have emerged since the Arab Spring in the early 2010s.
