Thousands lend support to Hong Kong school boycott

 Nearly a thousand alumni and students across Hong Kong added their voices to a citywide protest on Friday, as demonstrators called on the government to meet all their demands and not just withdraw the now-shelved extradition bill.

They formed human chains outside schools in Kowloon Tong, Tai Po and on Hong Kong Island, and asked other students to join them to put pressure on Chief Executive Carrie Lam's administration, the South China Morning Post reported.

The demonstrators, most of whom were alumni, chanted school anthems and popular anti-government cheers, such as "there are no rioters, only a tyrannical regime", and "Hongkongers, add oil".

Some students in school uniforms also joined the effort to form a human chain.

The rally extended about 700 metres along the narrow, tree-lined pavement around two blocks, situated in an otherwise quiet middle-class neighbourhood with low-rise residential buildings.

Protesters want an independent investigation into the use of force by police, an amnesty for arrested protesters, a halt to categorising the protests as riots, and the implementation of universal suffrage.

Their show of defiance continued despite Lam's announcement on Wednesday that she would formally withdraw the extradition bill that has sparked months of protests in the city.IANS