Hong Kong, leader Carrie Lam: the extradition bill is dead
Rights — di Andrea Barolini
Although not formally withdrawn, the contested extradition bill is “dead”, according to Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.
Hong Kong, leader Carrie Lam: the extradition bill is dead
Although not formally withdrawn, the contested extradition bill is “dead”, according to Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.
The leader of Hong Kong's local government, Carrie Lam, has given ground. After weeks of massive and unrelenting popular protests, the leader announced on the morning of Tuesday 9 July that the bill which would have facilitated extraditions to China is now "dead".
Carrie Lam spoke of a "complete failure"
The people, then, have won their battle, thanks to the broadest protest movement ever recorded in the former British colony in the past thirty years. In the face of the low trust shown by her detractors, Lam also gave reassurances: "Doubts have been expressed about the sincerity of the government, or concerns that the bill could be revived in Parliament. So I want to reiterate here: the bill is dead."
Back in June, Hong Kong's executive had already suspended the approval process for the extradition bill, precisely in response to the enormous street protests. Even so, those protests had not ceased: the people were calling for the complete withdrawal of the legislation.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says the extradition bill that sparked the territory’s biggest political crisis in decades is ‘dead’ reut.rs/2LJoZay
Lam acknowledged that her government's attempts to push the bill through had proved "a complete failure". She then opened the door to dialogue with the protesters — in particular with students, the main driving force behind the protest movement — in public and without preconditions.
"Deep-seated problems in Hong Kong society"
"I have reached the conclusion," she explained, "that there are deep-seated problems in Hong Kong society. Economic problems, problems of living conditions, of political divisions. The first thing we must do is identify them and find solutions in order to move forward."
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It remains to be seen whether such overtures will be enough for the people to overlook the fact that, although declared "dead", the extradition bill has not yet been formally withdrawn.