Photographer Kiran Ridley’s photo series on the protests that broke out in Hong Kong last year has won the top prize at the 2020 International Photography Awards in the editorial and press category.
Based between Paris and London, Ridley previously covered the Gilets Jaunes protests in France, as well as the Australian bush fires last year.
Ridley’s images on Hong Kong spanned last June to December, showcasing how the demonstrations evolved from a peaceful march of a million, to the frequent use of tear gas by police and Molotov cocktails by protesters.
Widespread protests erupted over a now-axed extradition bill. The government’s bill proposal had sought to arrange for the transfer of a Hong Kong fugitive running from murder charges in Taiwan – but the law would have also enabled the transfer of suspects between Hong Kong and mainland China.
To protest against a perceived attempt to compromise Hong Kong’s judiciary, which is independent from mainland China’s, millions of Hongkongers took to the streets.
Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested, a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots,” and suspension of the extradition bill.
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