Hong Kong protesters disrupt train services, cause commuter chaos

HONG KONG: Hundreds of Hong Kong protesters blocked train services during the morning rush hour on Tuesday, causing commuter chaos in the latest anti-government campaign to roil the former British colony.

What started three months ago as rallies against an extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial, has evolved into a wider backlash against the city’s government and its political masters in Beijing.

Protests have occurred almost daily, sometimes with little notice, disrupting business, piling pressure on the city’s beleaguered government and stretching its police force, which some have accused of using excessive force Police say dozens of Hong Kong protesters detained during recent clashes will be charged with rioting — an offence that carries a jail term of up to ten years — as the finance hub’s embattled pro-Beijing leaders crack down on weeks of demonstrations. Hong Kong has been hit by seven weeks of mass protest rallies — some of which have ended in violence — triggered by a controversial bill which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.