Record Low Approval Following Historic Hong Kong Protests

People have been passionately protesting in Hong Kong about upcoming changes relating to an extradition bill that's sparked outrage with many people of all ages in the country.

The massive protests have been seen to dramatically impact public opinion on the matter, especially with younger and more educated people in the region.

Support for Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam has plunged with disapproval on the rise up to almost 70 percent.

Protesters have attempted to crowdfund for advertisement efforts to make the extradition bill a topic for the next G20 summit and they've already raised millions.

Roads have been blocked, government offices closed, people are outraged at the proposed bill. In response to the pressure, Lam temporarily suspended the bill and apologized. Lam has vowed to scrap the plan but it hasn't been tossed yet. Many are waiting for the government to announce the official withdrawal of the bill, not feeling comfortable that it's only been suspended. However, the government has insinuated that the pending legislation won't be discussed any further, so suspension makes it more or less dead in the water.

Some Hong Kong citizens are planning to leave altogether, fearing that the changes might eventually be implemented. To be fair, news reports suggest that a growing number of people have been considering leaving the region anyways, before the massive protests started, because of rising housing costs and high cost of living.

Some surveys have found that at least 34 percent or more of Hong Kong adutls would emigrate if they had the means and opportunity to do so. At least 16 percent of those adults are already making some plans to leave.
Where are they looking to emigrate to? The most popular answers were Canada, Australia, and Taiwan.

The top reasons that people cite for leaving are political disputes, crowded living conditions, and high property prices.

Protesters have asked the government to investigate some of the alleged police brutality that took place during the recent protests but the government responded by insisting that they would look into the incident as a whole; who might have promoted or fueled certain groups or protesters, they don't want to look solely at police activity and wrongdoing.

Lam begins her third year in office soon and she will be doing so with less support from the public than ever. Many are still calling for her resignation and withdrawal altogether.

Pics:
Pic1 K Cheung via AP
Pic2

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