Over the last couple of weeks, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Hong Kong opposing the extradition bill that was set to be passed. These protests left a number of people injured as they engaged with police in running battles. However, things seem to have taken a turn around after Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam termed the controversial bill that would have allowed extradition to Mainland China as “dead”.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Ms. Lam said the work that the government had done on the bill had been a “total failure”. However, she did not say whether the bill had been fully withdrawn or not thus leaving protesters with numerous doubts.The protesters, therefore, vowed to continue with mass rallies until the bill was finally scrapped off.
Controversial Extradition Bill
The controversial extradition bill which would see lawbreakers extradited to mainland Chinahad sparked weeks of unrest in the city after it was set for the second reading. During the mass rallies, the protesters even went ahead to camp outside police headquarters with the aim of forcing the government to withdraw it. This is because they view this bill to be against their judicial system and thus would bring back Hong Kong under the rule of Mainland China.
Speaking at the press conference, Ms. Lam told reporters “There are still lingering doubts about the government’s sincerity or worries whether the government will start the process in the Legislative Council. So I reiterate here, there is no such plan. The bill is dead”. Initially, Ms. Lam had said the bill “will die” in 2020 after the end of the current legislative term.
Despite the assurances from Ms. Lam, the leaders of these protests have reacted angrily accusing Ms. Lam of trying to appease them. Bonnie Leung, a leader of the Civil Human Rights Front that had spearheaded the organizations said the protests would continue until the government meets their five key demands. Some of the demands include full withdrawal of the bill and dropping of charges of those who have been detained after the recent protests.
What the New Announcement by Ms. Lam Means
Despite terming the bill as “dead” Ms. Lam has come short of the protesters actual demands which were mainly focused on the complete withdrawal of this controversial extradition bill. Instead, she seems to have put the bill on hold until the current legislatives session’s ends after which it will die by default.
It is now clear what the protesters are aiming for considering the huge street protests in Hong Kong have been going on for a month now. On Sunday, more than 100, 000 had taken to the streets again with the aim of forcing the government in withdrawing the bill. Things do not seem to be getting better with leaders of Pro-Beijing political parties also starting to question the fitness of Ms. Lam’s administration.For now we will only have to wait and see whether the new announcement will be enough to appease protesters.