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| Hong Kong: Carrie Lam says extradition bill is 'dead' but stops short of withdrawal | Hong Kong: Carrie Lam says extradition bill is 'dead' but stops short of withdrawal |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has said a controversial extradition bill that has caused weeks of political crisis is “dead”, but has held back from completely withdrawing it. | |
| “There is no such plan. The bill is dead,” the chief executive said at a press conference on Tuesday. Lam said she felt “heartbroken” over the conflict caused by the proposed law, which she described as a “total failure”. | “There is no such plan. The bill is dead,” the chief executive said at a press conference on Tuesday. Lam said she felt “heartbroken” over the conflict caused by the proposed law, which she described as a “total failure”. |
| Lam’s speech comes after weeks of protests by millions of residents against the proposed law. in the city’s sharpest challenge to Beijing’s rule in decades. | |
| Many see the proposed law as an encroachment of the territory’s autonomy, promised under the “one country, two systems” established when the former British colony was returned to China in 1997. Critics worry Beijing will use the law to extradite activists and political enemies to China. | |
| Lam’s remarks were her strongest yet since the government suspended progress on the bill after mass demonstrations last month. She stopped short of meeting protesters’ demands to withdraw the bill, instead using Cantonese phrase to describe the proposal as “reaching the end of its life”. | |
| “We suspended it and we have no time table, we reiterate that when the current legislature ends, ie July next year, it will be automatically expired,” Lam said. “What I said today is not very different from before, but maybe people want to hear a very firm response … the bill has actually died. So people won’t need to worry that there will be renewed discussions on the bill in the current legislature.” | |
| Protesters rejected Lam’s remarks and groups like the Civil Human Rights Front vowed to continue demonstrating. “I urge Carrie Lam not to use words to deceive us. Otherwise the Civil Human Rights Front will plan our next action,” said Figo Chan Ho-wun, the CHRF’s vice-convenor. | |
| 1 July 1997: Hong Kong, previously a British colony, is returned to China under the framework of "one country, two systems". The "Basic Law" constitution guarantees to protect, for the next 50 years, the democratic institutions that make Hong Kong distinct from Communist-ruled mainland China. | |
| 2003: Hong Kong's leaders introduce legislation that would forbid acts of treason and subversion against the Chinese government. The bill resembles laws used to charge dissidents on the mainland. An estimated half a million people turn out to protest against the bill. As a result of the backlash, further action on the proposal is halted. | |
| 2007: The Basic Law stated that the ultimate aim was for Hong Kong's voters to achieve a complete democracy, but China decides in 2007 that universal suffrage in elections for the chief executive cannot be implemented until 2017. Some lawmakers are chosen by business and trade groups, while others are elected by vote. In a bid to accelerate a decision on universal suffrage, five lawmakers resign. But this act is followed by the adoption of the Beijing-backed electoral changes, which expand the chief executive's selection committee and add more seats for lawmakers elected by direct vote. The legislation divides Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp, as some support the reforms while others say they will only delay full democracy while reinforcing a structure that favors Beijing. | |
| 2014: The Chinese government introduces a bill allowing Hong Kong residents to vote for their leader in 2017, but with one major caveat: the candidates must be approved by Beijing. Pro-democracy lawmakers are incensed by the bill, which they call an example of "fake universal suffrage" and "fake democracy". The move triggers a massive protest as crowds occupy some of Hong Kong's most crowded districts for 70 days. In June 2015, Hong Kong legislators formally reject the bill, and electoral reform stalls. The current chief executive, Carrie Lam, widely seen as the Chinese Communist Party's favored candidate, is hand-picked in 2017 by a 1,200-person committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites. | |
| 2019: Lam pushes amendments to extradition laws that would allow people to be sent to mainland China to face charges. The proposed legislation triggers a huge protest, with organizers putting the turnout at 1 million, and a standoff that forces the legislature to postpone debate on the bills. | |
| Others criticised Lam’s refusal to formally withdraw the bill. | |
| “‘Officially dead’ is not a legal or political term. So it’s still unclear whether it is withdrawn, and we can only assume it is not since she still has not said those words,” said Lokman Tsui, who teaches journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. | “‘Officially dead’ is not a legal or political term. So it’s still unclear whether it is withdrawn, and we can only assume it is not since she still has not said those words,” said Lokman Tsui, who teaches journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. |
| Public opinion of Lam, a target of protesters who see her as a lackey for Beijing, has reached a new low and few trust her pledges. | |
| “She said the bill is dead but in the legislative rules, there is only ‘postpone’ or ‘withdrawal’,” said a protesters who asked to only give his surname, Ip. “I absolutely don’t trust her verbal compromises,” he said. | |
| On Facebook, comments posted under a live-stream of her speech were critical. One posted: “So stubborn... she said nothing! Just suspended!!” Another said: “We need withdrawal!” | |
| Pronouncing the bill dead while not withdrawing it appears to be a political compromise. Lam, who ultimately answers to Beijing, described the government’s response as the result of “deliberations of the various concerns and factors” and a “practical measure for us to move ahead”. | |
| “I fully understand the responses of the government many not have met the wishes of the people especially the protesters,” she said. | |
| Lam also refused several key demands from protesters, including her resignation and an independent investigation into police wrongdoings. Protesters and residents have accused the police of using excessive force on demonstrators. Lam did meet one concession of demonstrators, public discussions with student protesters. Previously she had only agreed to closed-door talks. | |
| “She is still trying hard to put up with this strong leader face, refusing to succumb to the people… that could send a dangerous message to mainland dissent too,” said pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo. “Lam thinks she can stop a hill fire using a garden hose, but the young are not giving in, nor giving up.” | |
| What started in early June as protests against a new extradition law have broadened into a pro-democracy movement concerned about the wider relationship between Hong Kong and China and the future for the special administrative region. | |
| Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, has offered a ‘solemn’ personal apology for the crisis and also hinted that she had in effect shelved the controversial legislation. However, protesters criticised her as insincere and said she had ignored their key demands. The demonstrations have continued. | |
| People have been demonstrating against legal changes that would make it easier to extradite people from Hong Kong to China. Supporters say the amendments are key to ensuring the city does not become a criminal refuge, but critics worry Beijing will use the law to extradite political opponents and others to China. Under the amended law, those accused of offences punishable by seven years or more in prison could be extradited. | |
| The government claims the push to change the law, which would also apply to Taiwan and Macau, stems from the killing last year of a Hong Kong woman while she was in Taiwan with her boyfriend. Authorities in Taiwan suspect the woman’s boyfriend, who remains in Hong Kong, but cannot try him because no extradition agreement is in place. | |
| Officials have promised to safeguard against abuses, pledging that no one at risk of political or religious persecution will be sent to the mainland. Suspects who could face the death penalty would not be extradited. | |
| Hong Kong officials have repeatedly said the bill has not come from the central government in Beijing. However, Beijing has voiced its backing for the changes. | |
| Many fear the proposed extradition law will be used by authorities to target political enemies. They worry the new legislation spells the end of the ‘one country, two systems’ policy, eroding the civil rights enjoyed by Hong Kong residents since the handover of sovereignty from the UK to China in 1997. | |
| Many attending the protests said they could not trust China as it had often used non-political crimes to target government critics, and they also feared Hong Kong officials would not be able to reject Beijing’s requests. Legal professionals have also expressed concern over the rights of those sent across the border to be tried. The conviction rate in Chinese courts is as high as 99%. Arbitrary detentions, torture and denial of legal representation of one’s choosing are also common. | |
| After the current crisis, analysts believe the Hong Kong government will probably start a new round of retaliatory measures against its critics while the Chinese government will tighten its grip on the city. Police have said that 32 people have been arrested over the recent demonstrations and five have been charged with rioting, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment. Six pro-democracy members of the legislature have already been ousted. | |
| Lily Kuo in Beijing and Verna Yu in Hong Kong | |
| Hundreds of protesters clashed with police at the weekend, as they blocked streets in the commercial district of Kowloon, following a march earlier in the day. Police arrested six people at the demonstration, while activists accused authorities of using excessive force on demonstrators and journalists. | Hundreds of protesters clashed with police at the weekend, as they blocked streets in the commercial district of Kowloon, following a march earlier in the day. Police arrested six people at the demonstration, while activists accused authorities of using excessive force on demonstrators and journalists. |
| Rights under threat: how China is bringing Hong Kong to heel | Rights under threat: how China is bringing Hong Kong to heel |
| The crisis in Hong Kong has spread beyond the territory. China has criticised “British intervention” in the former British colony after the UK foreign secretary stressed his country’s support for Hong Kong’s freedom. | The crisis in Hong Kong has spread beyond the territory. China has criticised “British intervention” in the former British colony after the UK foreign secretary stressed his country’s support for Hong Kong’s freedom. |
| Last week, outgoing US consul general Kurt Tong was barred by the state department from giving a critical speech on government actions in Hong Kong, for fears it would derail a temporary trade truce between the US and China, according to the Financial Times. | Last week, outgoing US consul general Kurt Tong was barred by the state department from giving a critical speech on government actions in Hong Kong, for fears it would derail a temporary trade truce between the US and China, according to the Financial Times. |
| According to the report, citing people familiar with the matter, Tong had planned a “kick-ass” speech to be delivered on 2 July at the Asia Society in Hong Kong, describing Beijing’s growing influence over the territory. Instead, the speech was watered down and made off the record at the last minute. | According to the report, citing people familiar with the matter, Tong had planned a “kick-ass” speech to be delivered on 2 July at the Asia Society in Hong Kong, describing Beijing’s growing influence over the territory. Instead, the speech was watered down and made off the record at the last minute. |
| On Monday, Hong Kong activist and pop star Denise Ho was repeatedly interrupted by a Chinese diplomat when she spoke at the United Nations on Monday. “We are all in danger in Hong Kong because we’re on the edge of becoming another [Chinese] city where we would lose our freedom of speech,” she said, calling on the UN to convene an urgent session on the territory. | On Monday, Hong Kong activist and pop star Denise Ho was repeatedly interrupted by a Chinese diplomat when she spoke at the United Nations on Monday. “We are all in danger in Hong Kong because we’re on the edge of becoming another [Chinese] city where we would lose our freedom of speech,” she said, calling on the UN to convene an urgent session on the territory. |
| Within three minutes of remarks, Ho was interrupted twice, with a delegate from the Chinese mission taking issue with her “unfounded allegations” against the one country two systems framework and “abusive” language. | Within three minutes of remarks, Ho was interrupted twice, with a delegate from the Chinese mission taking issue with her “unfounded allegations” against the one country two systems framework and “abusive” language. |
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