Hong Kong leader finally withdraws extradition bill

CARRIE LAM, Hong Kong’s leader, yesterday withdrew the extradition bill that has plunged the city into chaos, but there were few hopes of an end to the crisis as protesters scorned the move as “too little, too late”.

In a televised address, Ms Lam said the government would “formally withdraw the bill to fully allay public demands”. The withdrawal comes after three months of near-constant unrest, during which millions have taken to the streets, more than 1,000 protesters have been arrested and pitched battles fought with police across the city.

The extradition bill would have allowed suspects to be sent for trial in mainland China, where the Communist Party controls the courts.

Reuters reported last week that Ms Lam had tried to drop the bill but was blocked by Beijing, which has been unwilling to give ground in the face of the most serious challenge to its authority since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

In her sombre address, the 62-yearold leader, who was recently recorded as saying she would “resign if [she] could”, said “lingering violence” had damaged Hong Kong, and she hoped withdrawing the bill would “help our society to move forward”.

Hong Kong’s stock market rose 4 per cent on the news, recording its best day of the year, as the economy teeters on the edge of recession. But there were doubts yesterday as to how far the move would quell the protest movement that has seen thousands of workers strike, the airport blocked for days, and transport networks grind to a halt.

Ms Lam said that discussion of voting rights would have to wait until an “atmosphere of trust” was restored, and dismissed dropping charges against protesters as “contrary to the rule of law”.

But many protesters said the withdrawal was not enough. “What Carrie Lam is doing is too little and far too late,” said a spokesman at a press conference representing civilian protesters.