Hong Kong chief's ‘bill is dead’ pledge fails to satisfy protest leaders

Michael Howie9 July 2019

Protest leaders have vowed to keep up pressure on Hong Kong’s administration despite its leader today declaring that a highly contentious extradition bill is “dead”.

They pledged to continue the mass protests that have sparked violent clashes with police and a diplomatic row between the UK and China.

Earlier, the former British colony’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, admitted the government’s work on the bill had been a “total failure”.

Speaking at a news conference, Ms Lam acknowledged there were “lingering doubts about the government’s sincerity or worries about whether it would seek to bring the legislation back for a vote”. But she said: “I reiterate here, there is no such plan. The bill is dead.”

Hong Kong extradition bill protests - In pictures

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While the statement sounded emphatic, it fell short of what the protesters are demanding — the formal withdrawal of the bill, which they fear could see suspects face unfair trials in mainland China.

“We cannot find the word ‘dead’ in any of the laws in Hong Kong or in any legal proceedings in the Legislative Council,” protest leaders Jimmy Sham and Bonnie Leung said in statements in English and Cantonese.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam admitted the government’s work on the bill had been a “total failure”
AFP/Getty Images

“So how can the government tell us that we should preserve our rule of law, when (Ms Lam) herself does not use the principle of the rule of law,” they said.

The protest leaders also said Ms Lam was being hypocritical in claiming to have met demonstrators’ demands without speaking to them directly. “The young protesters have been out in the street outside her house, outside government headquarters, for weeks, roaring to be heard,” Ms Leung said.

Details about future protests will be announced at a later time, she added.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in month-long protests over the erosion of civil rights in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Protesters want an independent investigation into the police’s use of force at a protest on June 12, when officers used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds blocking major streets.

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