PROTESTERS have brought Hong Kong to a standstill as demonstrators protested a controversial extradition law, despite leader Carrie Lam suspending the bill.
Here's what we know about the measure that activists claim will erode judicial independence from the city and Britain's response.
What was the July 1 protest?
Police in Hong Kong clashed with protesters on July 1 – the anniversary of its handover from UK to Chinese rule.
A small group of protesters smashed into Hong Kong's Legislative Council building and raised the British colonial flag in a symbol of defiance.
Police used pepper spray and batons to control demonstrators.
A spate of further protests this month have seen violence erupt in Hong Kong with suspected triad gangsters attacking several pro-democracy protesters on Sunday night.
Footage circulated on social media showed men in white shirts attacking the peaceful protesters with sticks at a train station.
What has been Britain's response?
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Britain’s “support for Hong King and its freedoms is UNWAVERING.”
He warned there would be a diplomatic showdown if the Sino-British declaration on Hong Kong was not honoured by Beijing.
"The UK signed an internationally binding legal agreement in 1984 that enshrines the one country two systems rule, enshrines the basic freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and we stand four square behind that agreement, four square behind the people of Hong Kong," he told BBC TV.
"There will be serious consequences if that internationally binding legal agreement were not to be honoured."
He added on Twitter: “HK people MUST preserve right to peaceful protest exercised within the law, as hundreds of thousands of brave people showed today.”
The foreign ministry in Beijing responded to Mr Hunt after he issued a statement reiterating support for the protests.
A spokesman was quoted as saying that Britain needed to "know its place and stop interfering" in what was a "purely internal affair" for China.
The spokesman said the Beijing government was "extremely dissatisfied" with the way Britain had "continuously gesticulated" about Hong Kong.
But as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, Mr Hunt said the Government would continue to speak out in support of their rights.
While he said that violence was not acceptable, the right to peaceful protest within the law had to be protected.
A spokeswoman said: "By monitoring its implementation we are acting responsibly in line with our commitments, not interfering.
"Hong Kong's rights and freedoms and high degree of autonomy underpin its success and prosperity.
"We will continue to stand up for these principles, including speaking out publicly and raising issues with the Chinese government when we have concerns."
What is the handover anniversary about?
On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong became a part of China after being a former British Colony.
The deal was Hong Kong would operate as a "one country, two systems", guaranteeing a level of autonomy.
A number of pro-democracy events are held in Hong Kong to mark the anniversary.
A flag-raising ceremony to mark the handover took place on July 1 inside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
What is the extradition law?
Hong Kong's government has been trying to push through a bill that would allow extraditions to any jurisdiction that does not have already have a treaty – including mainland China.
They claim the measure will prevent Hong Kong, a colony of 7million people, from becoming a magnet for fugitives.
Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam said on July 9 the extradition bill that had sparked the crisis was "dead," adding the government's work on the bill had been a "total failure".
But she stopped short of saying the bill had been fully withdrawn.
But leaders of the protesters have not been satisfied.
Bonnie Leung of the Civil Human Rights Front, said further protests would be held until the Hong Kong government meets five key demands.
These include the full withdrawal of the bill and the dropping of charges against those detained during recent protests.
Why are people protesting?
The legislation has been met with widespread opposition from a huge cross-section of society including lawyers, journalists, activists and business figures.
A procession of people almost two miles long marched for seven hours through central Hong Kong on Sunday, June 9.
A group of protesters had planned to stay outside the government headquarters until the extradition bill undergoes its second reading, but police moved in after a permit to protest expired at midnight and met the protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Even though China has run Hong Kong since 1997, the handover deal with the Brits ensured a 50-year "one country, two systems" deal where the city can retain key liberties, such as freedom of speech and an independent judiciary.
Martin Lee QC, a pro-democracy figure and former legislator who helped organise the protests, told the Guardian: “If we lose this one, Hong Kong is not Hong Kong any more, it’s just another Chinese city.”
When were the plans suspended?
After a week of protests, Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam announced on June 15 that the plans had been "suspended" for the time being.
She expressed "deep sorrow and regret" although she stopped short of apologising.
But protest leaders are still calling for the bill to be axed entirely, and many have called on Ms Lam to resign.
By early Sunday afternoon, June 16, large crowds wearing black and carrying white flowers marched through the city's Victoria Square.
Some held banners saying "Do not shoot, we are HongKonger," as they sought to avoid a repeat of the violence that rocked the financial centre on Wednesday when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas.
The turn-around was one of the most significant political turnarounds by the Hong Kong government since Britain returned the territory to China in 1997, and has thrown into question Lam's ability to continue to lead the city.
What is the Hong Kong triad?
A "triad" is an underground Chinese organised crime syndicate, triads are common in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as well as countries with significant Chinese populations, including the UK.
They are known colloquially as the "Chinese Mafia" but triads are unique to Chinese culture.
There are seven main triads in Hong Kong: 14K, Sun Yee On, Tai Huen Chai, Wo Shing Wo, Shui Fong, Wo Hop To and Luen Group.
Triads began as part of a patriotic movement to restore Ming rule in China in the 17th Century, but later turned to organised crime – including drug trafficking, extortion and prostitution.
There is a clear hierarchy within a triad, less important and "useful" members – usually those with a lower IQ – can be "deployed" by other, higher up members into fighting and to carry out dangerous crimes.
It has been reported that as technology evolves and China becomes more affluent, triads have ditched their more traditional older ways of warfare and membership – higher ups now communicate over chat apps, rather than long sit-down meals, and visible triad tattoos are a thing of the past.
Triads are now made-up of less well off immigrants to Hong Kong – including asylum seekers- as well as Chinese members.
Triads recruit on housing estates and target underprivileged young men and women with promises of wealth and the attractive offer of "employment" regardless of academic skill.
Triads in Hong Kong "control" various areas of the region and are widely believed to have a hand in controlling other aspects of Hong Kong life, too – for instance the recent protests.
What was the umbrella movement?
The Umbrella revolution was a series of sit-in street protests in Hong Kong, running from September 26 to December 15, 2014.
The former British colony had been promised it would be able to elect its leader by universal suffrage by 2017 – unlike the system of a "nominating committee" of 1,200, formed largely from Beijing elites.
Protests were sparked when in August 2014, Beijing passed a reform framework to stipulate universal suffrage as they wanted it.
This would be mean only two or three committee-vetted candidates who "love the country" would be able to run – and proved the final straw for those disillusioned by the thinning veneer of democracy.
Students began striking on September 22, with thousands of residents joining them as the movement ballooned.
HONG KONG HISTORY
Hong Kong became a British colony with the end of the First Opium War in 1842.
The British fought the war to preserve the right of the East India Company to sell opium into mainland China.
The establishment of the colony gave Britain control over a number of ports to which foreign merchants could deliver goods.
Britain obtained a 99-year lease for the territory in 1898, and relinquished control when that lease expired in 1997.
Hong Kong now operates as a semi-autonomous territory, with control over its own trade, tax, and immigration policy.
Under the terms of the 1997 handover, that status is protected until 2047.
What happens after then is currently undecided, but opponents of the Beijing government fear that China will seek to gain control of the territory.
Key sites were occupied for 77 days before support for the occupation waned, and police were able to clear out activists with little resistance.
The revolution won its name from the use of umbrellas to defend protesters against police pepper spray.
Despite the mass movement, the protest ended without any political concessions from the government, with three of the most prominent activists sentenced to six to eight months' imprisonment for unlawful assembly.
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