More protests planned in Hong Kong over extradition bill leader says is dead
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said the controversial extradition bill was a complete failure and i..
Hong Kongs controversial extradition bill that sparked unprecedented political unrest is dead according to its pro-Beijing leader.
Carrie Lam said there was now no plan to allow extraditions back to China – although it is not clear whether the legislation has been completely withdrawn as protesters have demanded.
Ms Lam noted there were lingering doubts about the governments sincerity or worries whether the government will restart the process in the Legislative Council.
But she said at a news conference the bill had been a complete failure adding I reiterate here, there is no such plan. The bill is dead.
However, demonstrators immediately dismissed her comments and have threatened more mass rallies.
Leading democracy activist Joshua Wong, who was recently released from jail for his role in protests in 2014, said Ms Lams words about the bill are another ridiculous lie.
Advertisement
Advertisement
He said: The bill still exists in the “legislative programme” until July next year.
The Civil Human Rights Front – which has organised some of the mass rallies – said it would announce fresh protests over the coming days.
Hong Kong has been rocked over the last few weeks by a series of protests against the extradition bill.
There have been violent clashes between police and protesters who are concerned that the territory is losing freedoms guaranteed when the UK handed over its former colony to China in 1997.
In the most recent protest on Sunday, tens of thousands of people, chanting Free Hong Kong and some carrying British colonial-era flags, marched toward a high-speed railway station that connects Hong Kong to the mainland.
They said they wanted to carry a peaceful protest message to people on the mainland, where state-run media have not covered the protests widely but have focused instead on clashes with police and property damage.
On July 1, the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kongs handover, a peaceful march drew hundreds of thousands of people but was overshadowed by an assault on the territorys legislative building.
A few hundred demonstrators shattered thick glass panels to enter the building and wreaked havoc for three hours, spray-painting slogans on the chamber walls, overturning furniture and damaging electronic voting and fire prevention systems.
Ms Lam has made few public appearances in recent weeks as calls mount for her resignation.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Political analysts say tRead More – Source
