Protesters vow to return to Hong Kong’s streets despite extradition bill backdown
Chief executive urged to quit over attempt to pass law allowing deportation to mainland China
in Hong Kong THOUSANDS of protesters are expected to take to the streets of Hong Kong in another mass rally today despite a pledge by Carrie Lam, the city’s embattled chief executive, to suspend a controversial new extradition bill.
Ms Lam tried to strike a conciliatory tone yesterday as she delayed the bill after a tumultuous week that saw the worst political violence since the UK handed the city over to China in 1997.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators clashed with police who repelled them with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The escalation came three days after Ms Lam doubled down on the law despite a record-breaking rally last Sunday that organisers say drew more than one million people on to the streets.
Critics fear that the sweeping bill puts foreign and Chinese nationals – even those just transiting through Hong Kong – at risk of unfair treatment by China’s mistrusted and opaque justice system, and damages the city’s reputation as a safe global financial hub.
Ms Lam’s about-turn and pledge to listen to the public was immediately rejected by protest leaders, who demanded that she fully scrap the bill, resign and apologise for heavy-handed police tactics.
Demonstrators expressed a lack of trust in the chief executive, who they accuse of being in thrall to Beijing, with some angry that the concessions came only after protests had turned violent.
Jimmy Sham, from the Civil Human Rights Front protest group, compared her offer to a “knife” that had been plunged into the city. “It’s almost reached our heart. Now the government said they won’t push it, but they also refuse to pull it out,” he told reporters while announcing today’s rally.
Jason Ng, from the Progressive Lawyers Group, said that people remained incensed by Lam’s refusal “to take responsibility for the excessive police force unleashed on protesters and for tearing society asunder”.
Theresa May’s resignation was even held up as a shining example that Ms Lam should follow. Leung Kwok-hung, a social activist leading the protests, said: “Theresa May resigned for a lack of leadership. She can’t provide a Brexit plan and divided Britain. So, Carrie Lam, listen to me: follow the step of Theresa May, be courageous, step down. Otherwise, you will be brought down by Hong Kong people.”
Ms Lam’s position became more precarious after China began to distance itself from the bill. Liu Xiaoming, China’s ambassador to London, on Thursday became the first senior Chinese official to publicly dismiss suggestions that Beijing had pushed for the expansion of Hong Kong’s extradition legislation. On Friday, Michael Tien became Hong Kong’s first pro-Beijing legislator to call publicly for a delay.
The Chinese media reported that Ms Lam then met Han Zheng, the Chinese vice-premier, for talks on Friday evening in Shenzhen, which links Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland.
China’s government, which recently faced international criticism on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, said yesterday that it supported the decision to suspend the bill. Geng Shuang, the foreign ministry spokesman, called the move an attempt to “listen more widely to the views of the community and restore calm... as soon as possible”.
Ms Lam did not set a deadline for the reintroduction of the bill. “I feel deep sorrow and regret that the deficiencies in our work and various other factors have stirred up substantial controversies and disputes in society following the relatively calm periods of the past two years,” she said.
Ray Lo, 19, a student in Hong Kong studying business, told The Sunday Telegraph that she would return streets today.
She cast suspicion over Ms Lam’s motives for postponing the legislation, theorising that the Hong Kong leader was keen to nullify protests before a visit by Chinese government officials for the anniversary of the British handover on July 1.
Thousands of mothers dressed in black and holding carnations staged a vigil in Chater Garden, a public park, on Friday evening on behalf of their children.
Meanwhile, reports emerged that Hong Kong’s tycoons had started to move their assets offshore, concerned that the law had left them politically exposed.
Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, wrote on Twitter: “Well done HK Government for heeding concerns of the brave citizens who have stood up for their human rights. Safeguarding the rights and freedoms in the Sino-British Joint Declaration is the best future for HK and Britain stands behind this legally binding agreement.”
‘Well done HK Government for heeding concerns of the brave citizens who have stood up for human rights’