About two million protesters choked Hong Kong's streets in a powerful rebuke of a reviled extradition law, organisers said Sunday, piling pressure on the city's embattled pro-Beijing leader who apologised for causing "conflict" but refused to step down.

The show of force saw vast crowds marching for hours in tropical heat, calling for the resignation of chief executive Carrie Lam, who was forced to suspend the bill as public anger mounted.

Throngs of largely black-clad protesters snaked their way for miles through the streets to the city's parliament -- with the organisers' estimate for the crowd size doubling an already record-breaking demonstration the previous Sunday in the city of 7.3 million.

The estimate has not been independently verified but if confirmed it would be the largest demonstration in Hong Kong's history.

Hong Kong's biggest protest to date was a massive rally in support of Tiananmen protesters in May 1989, before Beijing's deadly crackdown, which sources at the time put at roughly 1.5 million strong.

Police, who historically give far lower estimates for political protests, said 338,000 people turned out at the demonstration's "peak" Sunday.

Thousands were camping out overnight to continue the protest, including outside the legislature, with the police seemingly ceding the streets to the jubilant masses.

Critics fear the Beijing-backed law will entangle people in China's notoriously opaque and politicised courts and damage the city's reputation as a safe business hub.

Lam's office put out a statement late Sunday admitting that shortcomings in how her administration handled the law had "led to a lot of conflict and disputes" and "disappointed and distressed many citizens".

It came a day after she announced she would postpone the law indefinitely.

But it fell well short of protester demands that she resign, shelve the bill permanently and apologise for police using tear gas and rubber bullets earlier in the week.

The Civil Human Rights Front, which is organising the rallies, said Hong Kongers would protest and strike on Monday "until their voices are heard".

- Anger at police -

The international finance hub was rocked Wednesday by the worst political violence in decades as protesters were dispersed by baton-wielding riot police.

Many accused the police of using excessive force, and anger was further fanned by authorities calling the largely young protesters "rioters".

Nearly 80 people were injured in the unrest -- including 22 police officers -- with both sides showing a willingness to escalate action and reaction to levels unseen in the usually stable business hub.

Police said they had no choice but to use force to meet violent protesters who besieged their lines outside the city's parliament.

But critics -- including legal and rights groups -- say officers used the violent actions of a tiny group of protesters as an excuse to unleash a sweeping crackdown on the predominantly young, peaceful crowd.

One man died Saturday when he fell from a building where he had been holding an hours-long anti-extradition protest.

He had unfurled a banner on scaffolding attached to an upscale mall, but fell when rescuers tried to haul him in. Police said they suspected the 35-year-old was suicidal.

Throughout the day, demonstrators queued for hours to leave flowers and tributes where he fell.

- Battling for the city's soul -

The extradition furore is just the latest chapter in what many see as a battle for the soul of Hong Kong.

For the last decade the city has been convulsed by political turbulence between pro-Beijing authorities and opponents who fear an increasingly assertive China is stamping on the city's unique freedoms and culture enjoyed since the handover from Britain in 1997.

Opposition to the extradition bill has united an unusually wide cross-section of Hong Kong, from influential legal and business bodies to religious leaders.

Lam's decision to ignore those warnings and press ahead with the bill even after last weekend's massive rally placed her administration under pressure from both opponents and allies.

Advisers and pro-establishment lawmakers urged her to delay the bill after Wednesday's violence, while Beijing began to distance itself from her administration.

Her climbdown is a rare example of the city's unelected leaders caving-in to demonstrations -- something more recent administrations have been increasingly unwilling to do.

Two months of protests in 2014 calling for the right to directly elect Hong Kong's leader won no concessions from Beijing, and key figures from that movement are now in jail.

One of that movement's most prominent leaders, 22-year-old activist Joshua Wong, is due to be released from prison on Monday morning, his party said late Sunday.

It was not clear whether his early release was a gesture from the authorities or merely typical procedure under provisions for good behaviour.

- 'She has lost the public' -

"Her response is purely a PR strategy," 20-year-old protester Vivian Liu told AFP after Lam's statement. "And to define our protests as a riot is totally inappropriate."

"Personally I think she can no longer govern Hong Kong, she has lost the public," added Dave Wong, a 38-year-old protester who works in finance.

In mainland China, the internet was scrubbed clean of references to the massive rally, with entries for Hong Kong on search engines and social media platforms showing no sign of the demonstration.

The latest protest did not, however, go unnoticed in Washington, where Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Donald Trump would discuss the events with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit later this month.

"We are watching the people of Hong Kong speak about the things they value," Pompeo said.

A history of massive Hong Kong protests
Hong Kong (AFP) June 17, 2019 - Hong Kong protesters have piled the pressure on pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam with a series of huge demonstrations against a divisive bill to allow extraditions to mainland China.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to China in 1997 but benefits from a "One Country, Two Systems" policy that allows it to retain certain key liberties, such as freedom of speech and an independent judiciary, until 2047.

A push for democratic reforms saw unprecedented street protests in 2014, with demands for change reignited in February this year.

Here is an overview:

- 2003: National security law -

Some half a million people marched against a controversial attempt by the government to introduce a national security law that critics feared would curtail free speech.

The bill, which came after a deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), was the first mass demonstration movement the city's pro-Beijing leaders had faced since the handover.

It was eventually shelved, and set in process the resignation of then-chief executive Tung Chee-hwa.

- 2012: Education protests -

Tens of thousands of predominantly young demonstrators, many of them school children, surrounded the city government's complex for 10 days.

The target of their ire was a government order for schools to teach "Moral and National Education" classes that praised China's communist and nationalist history while criticising republicanism and democracy movements.

The government abandoned the curriculum and some of the protest leaders, such as then 15-year-old Joshua Wong, went on to become leading democracy advocates.

- 2014: Umbrella Movement -

For two months in late 2014, tens of thousands of protesters paralysed parts of the city with mass student-led demonstrations and sit-ins to demand democratic reforms including the right to elect the city's leader.

There were clashes and scenes of violence, which had been rare until then in the semi-autonomous territory, as police used pepper spray and tear gas to break up the demonstrations.

It became known as the Umbrella Movement after some demonstrators used umbrellas to protect themselves.

Police dismantled the main pro-democracy site in December, hauling off a hard core of protesters who vowed that their struggle would continue.

But the movement failed to win any concessions and many of its leaders were imprisoned.

- 2019: Extradition anger -

In February Hong Kong's government announced plans for a bill that would allow, for the first time, extraditions to mainland China.

The move was prompted by a murder but the opposition and lawyers feared it would tighten Beijing's grip on civil society and allow it to pursue its political enemies in Hong Kong.

Tens of thousands of people hit Hong Kong's streets in protest on April 28 in one of the biggest demonstrations since the Umbrella Movement.

It came just days after four prominent democratic leaders were jailed for their role in organising the 2014 protests.

Hong Kong's government made concessions on May 30, saying the extradition law would only apply to cases involving a potential jail term of at least seven years.

- Bill suspended, fresh protests -

On June 9, more than one million people, according to organisers, took to the streets in the biggest demonstration since the return to Chinese rule.

The police, who made 19 arrests, put the turnout at 240,000.

On June 12, a scheduled second reading of the controversial bill was delayed after huge crowds rallied, blocking major roads and attempting to storm parliament.

Police used tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and bean bag rounds in the worst clashes since the 1997 handover, leaving nearly 80 people injured.

More than 100 businesses and shops shut down in support of the movement and even Beijing sought to distance itself from the bill.

On June 15, embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced that the bill would be suspended, in a major climbdown for her government.

- 'Record' protest, activist freed -

Despite Lam's decision, organisers announced a fresh demonstration would go ahead and people poured into the city's streets on June 16.

Organisers say two million people marched in the protest, clad in black and calling for the full withdrawal of the bill. Police put the figure at 338,000 people.

On June 17, activist Wong, who became the face of the "Umbrella Movement", was released after serving half his reduced two-month sentence.

There was no comment from authorities on whether his release was a gesture or simply procedural.

Upon his release he immediately called for Lam to resign.

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Carrie Lam: Hong Kong's divisive, pro-Beijing leader
Hong Kong (AFP) June 15, 2019
Carrie Lam vowed to heal divisions and listen to the city's youth when she became Hong Kong's leader, promises that lie in tatters after tear gas and pepper spray sent them running for cover when they dared raise their voice. The 62-year-old devout Catholic took over in March 2017 when a committee stacked with Beijing loyalists voted her into office - the first time a woman had been elevated to the international finance hub's top job. In her acceptance speech she vowed to be more responsive to ... read more