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| Hong Kong: Lam withdraws extradition bill that sparked months-long protests | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam, formally withdrew an extradition bill on Wednesday that has sparked month of protests and plunged the territory into its biggest political crisis in decades. | |
| The South China Morning Post reported that Lam was expected to meet pro-establishment lawmakers at 4pm local time before a possible announcement that the bill will be withdrawn. The Chinese-backed news outlet HK01 said Lam was going to meet with lawmakers and they expected the bill to be withdrawn. | The South China Morning Post reported that Lam was expected to meet pro-establishment lawmakers at 4pm local time before a possible announcement that the bill will be withdrawn. The Chinese-backed news outlet HK01 said Lam was going to meet with lawmakers and they expected the bill to be withdrawn. |
| Lam shelved the bill in June and in July again insisted it was “dead” after weeks of protest but refused to withdraw it entirely, a key demand of protesters who argued it could be revived again if not formally withdrawn. | Lam shelved the bill in June and in July again insisted it was “dead” after weeks of protest but refused to withdraw it entirely, a key demand of protesters who argued it could be revived again if not formally withdrawn. |
| The protests were triggered by a controversial bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where the Communist party controls the courts, but have since evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement. | The protests were triggered by a controversial bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where the Communist party controls the courts, but have since evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement. |
| Public anger – fuelled by the aggressive tactics used by the police against demonstrators – has collided with years of frustration over worsening inequality and the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive, densely populated cities. | Public anger – fuelled by the aggressive tactics used by the police against demonstrators – has collided with years of frustration over worsening inequality and the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive, densely populated cities. |
| The protest movement was given fresh impetus on 21 July when gangs of men attacked protesters and commuters at a mass transit station – while authorities seemingly did little to intervene. | The protest movement was given fresh impetus on 21 July when gangs of men attacked protesters and commuters at a mass transit station – while authorities seemingly did little to intervene. |
| Underlying the movement is a push for full democracy in the city, whose leader is chosen by a committee dominated by a pro-Beijing establishment rather than by direct elections. | Underlying the movement is a push for full democracy in the city, whose leader is chosen by a committee dominated by a pro-Beijing establishment rather than by direct elections. |
| Protesters have vowed to keep their movement going until their core demands are met, such as the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, an independent inquiry into police tactics, an amnesty for those arrested and a permanent withdrawal of the bill. | Protesters have vowed to keep their movement going until their core demands are met, such as the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, an independent inquiry into police tactics, an amnesty for those arrested and a permanent withdrawal of the bill. |
| Beijing’s influence over Hong Kong has grown in recent years, as activists have been jailed and pro-democracy lawmakers disqualified from running or holding office. Independent booksellers have disappeared from the city, before reappearing in mainland China facing charges. | Beijing’s influence over Hong Kong has grown in recent years, as activists have been jailed and pro-democracy lawmakers disqualified from running or holding office. Independent booksellers have disappeared from the city, before reappearing in mainland China facing charges. |
| Under the terms of the agreement by which the former British colony was returned to Chinese control in 1997, the semi-autonomous region was meant to maintain a “high degree of autonomy” through an independent judiciary, a free press and an open market economy, a framework known as “one country, two systems”. | Under the terms of the agreement by which the former British colony was returned to Chinese control in 1997, the semi-autonomous region was meant to maintain a “high degree of autonomy” through an independent judiciary, a free press and an open market economy, a framework known as “one country, two systems”. |
| The extradition bill was seen as an attempt to undermine this and to give Beijing the ability to try pro-democracy activists under the judicial system of the mainland. | The extradition bill was seen as an attempt to undermine this and to give Beijing the ability to try pro-democracy activists under the judicial system of the mainland. |
| Lam has shown no sign of backing down beyond agreeing to suspend the extradition bill, while Beijing has issued increasingly shrill condemnations but has left it to the city's semi-autonomous government to deal with the situation. Meanwhile police have violently clashed directly with protesters, repeatedly firing teargas and rubber bullets. | Lam has shown no sign of backing down beyond agreeing to suspend the extradition bill, while Beijing has issued increasingly shrill condemnations but has left it to the city's semi-autonomous government to deal with the situation. Meanwhile police have violently clashed directly with protesters, repeatedly firing teargas and rubber bullets. |
| Beijing has ramped up its accusations that foreign countries are “fanning the fire” of unrest in the city. China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi has ordered the US to “immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs in any form”. | Beijing has ramped up its accusations that foreign countries are “fanning the fire” of unrest in the city. China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi has ordered the US to “immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs in any form”. |
| Lily Kuo and Verna Yu in Hong Kong | Lily Kuo and Verna Yu in Hong Kong |
| The bill would have allowed the extradition of suspects to mainland China’s opaque legal system. The protests it sparked have since turned into a broader democracy movement that has challenged Beijing’s authority over the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. | |
| By formally withdrawing the bill, Lam conceded to one of five key demands of the demonstrators, in an effort to de-escalate protest that have become increasingly violent on both sides. | |
| At the weekend, protesters and police clashed in some of the worst confrontations of the last three months as protesters threw 100 petrol bombs at police and government buildings. The Hong Kong police deployed water cannon and fired multiple rounds of rubber bullets and teargas. Police were also seen chasing down and beating passengers in metro stations. | At the weekend, protesters and police clashed in some of the worst confrontations of the last three months as protesters threw 100 petrol bombs at police and government buildings. The Hong Kong police deployed water cannon and fired multiple rounds of rubber bullets and teargas. Police were also seen chasing down and beating passengers in metro stations. |
| Earlier this week, Reuters published a recording of Lam speaking to a group of business executives in which she said she would step down if she were able to – suggesting Beijing has forced her to remain in office. | Earlier this week, Reuters published a recording of Lam speaking to a group of business executives in which she said she would step down if she were able to – suggesting Beijing has forced her to remain in office. |
| Hong Kong on brink of recession as protests and trade war take toll | Hong Kong on brink of recession as protests and trade war take toll |
| On Tuesday, however, Lam told reporters she wanted to remain in office to see Hong Kong through such a difficult period. | On Tuesday, however, Lam told reporters she wanted to remain in office to see Hong Kong through such a difficult period. |
| Since early June, Hong Kong has been embroiled in its worst political crisis since the former British colony was returned to Chinese control in 1997. A day after Lam suspended the bill in June, an estimated two million people still took to the streets to call for its full withdrawal. | |
| Since then, the city has been rocked by protests every weekend as relations between protesters, many of them students, residents and the police have grown increasingly fraught. The protesters’ demands have expanded to include an independent inquiry, an amnesty to those arrested, and democratic reforms. | |
| The withdrawal, while a major concession by the government, may still be too little, too late. As news of the coming withdrawal spread on Wednesday, riot police were seen patrolling metro stations as some protesters called for people to gather at different stations. | |
| “That alone is not going to be enough to satisfy an angry and frustrated public. The nature of the protest movement has transformed over the last 13 weeks,” said Adam Ni, a researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney. “If she does not take further steps, then we can expect the protests to continue,” he said. | |
| Protesters took to LIHKG, the online forum where they have been organising, to criticise Lam. One popular comment read: “What’s the difference between withdrawal of the bill on June 8 and September 4th?” | |
| It said: “They are: three eyes… eight dead, more than 100 prosecuted, more than 1,000 arrested, countless wounded, and the injustice of the entire system and the police has been exposed.” | |
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