Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents have jammed the city’s streets in a march protesting the government’s handling of a proposed extradition bill.

The crowds, walking slowly and shouting “withdraw” and “resign”, spilled into the streets from Victoria Park and began marching towards the Central district where the government headquarters is located.

The demonstrators carried banners demanding that chief executive Carrie Lam resign and drop the legislation completely instead of just suspending it as she announced on Saturday.

The march looks likely to match in scale one a week earlier that brought as many as a million out to express their concern over the former British colony’s relations with mainland China.

Farther down the parade route, mourners lined up to pay their respects at a makeshift memorial for a man who fell to his death on Saturday after hanging a protest banner that read in part, “Make Love, No Shoot” and “No Extradition to China”.

Mourners stop by a makeshift memorial
Mourners stop by a makeshift memorial (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

The man slipped from the grasp of rescuers after clinging for a time to scaffolding outside a shopping centre. He missed a big cushion set up to capture him, and was declared dead at a nearby hospital.

Pro-democracy activists are calling for a general strike on Monday despite Ms Lam’s decision to suspend work on the legislation. Some labour unions, teachers associations and other groups are planning boycotts of work and classes.

“We encourage all the public to carry on the campaign,” said Bonny Leung and other leaders of the pro-democracy Civil Human Rights Front.

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Many opponents of the extradition legislation are urging Ms Lam to step down and want her to drop the legislation, which many fear would undermine freedoms enjoyed by this former British colony but not elsewhere in China.

The communist government in Beijing issued multiple statements backing Ms Lam’s decision, which she announced in a news conference on Saturday.

The battle over legislation has evolved into Hong Kong’s toughest political test since the Communist Party-ruled mainland took control in 1997 with a promise not to interfere with the city’s civil liberties and courts.

Demonstrations on Wednesday turned violent, with dozens injured as police fought back with tear gas, rubber bullets and other forceful measures.

A worker cleans up detritus left in the aftermath of protests
A worker cleans up in the aftermath of protests (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Ms Lam has said the extradition legislation is needed for Hong Kong to uphold justice, meet its international obligations and not become a magnet for fugitives. The proposed bill would expand the scope of criminal suspect transfers to include Taiwan, Macau and mainland China.

China has been excluded from Hong Kong’s extradition agreements because of concerns over its judicial independence and human rights record.

Ms Lam has sidestepped questions over whether she should quit and said she still plans to seek passage of the proposed amendment. She also defended how the police dealt with the clashes with demonstrators.

But she said she was suspending the bill indefinitely. It was time, she said, “for responsible government to restore as quickly as possible this calmness in society”.

“I want to stress that the government is adopting an open mind,” she said. “We have no intention to set a deadline for this work.”