Thousands take to Hong Kong streets to protest new extradition laws

Demonstrators hold yellow umbrellas, the symbol of the Occupy Central movement during a protest to demand authorities scrap a proposed extradition bill with China, in Hong Kong, China April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

HONG KONG, April 28 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people marched on Hong Kong's parliament on Sunday to demand the scrapping of proposed extradition rules that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial - a move which some fear puts the city's core freedoms at risk.

Opponents of the proposal fear further erosion of rights and legal protections in the free-wheeling financial hub - freedoms which were guaranteed under the city's handover from British colonial rule to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.