Amid the chaos, government officials delayed the opening of debate on the bill, which has drawn massive protests from students and other pro-democracy advocates in the economically free-wheeling city of more than 7 million people.

The legislation, if approved, would allow Hong Kong to extradite suspected criminals to jurisdictions outside the former British colony without a prior agreement - most notably mainland China. It was not immediately clear when formal consideration of the bill would take place.

Lawmaker Charles Mok visited the protest Wednesday, defending the crowd as "well-meaning citizens" exercising freedom of expression.
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The U.S. State Department this week expressed "grave concern" over the extradition proposal, saying it could threaten Hong Kong's "special status" with the mainland. That brought a sharp response from Beijing on Wednesday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang saying no country has a right to interfere in its internal affairs.
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"All of this promises a similarly more determined response from the protestors," [Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Michael C.] Davis told USA TODAY. "The government has shown no interest in trying to mitigate this evolving situation. If blocked from protesting around LegCo the protesters may resort to strikes and boycotts. The government holds the cards to pull back and reconsider the bill but has shown no inclination to do so."