Carrie Lam Backs Down, Suspends Extradition Bill

In a major climbdown Chief Executive Carrie Lam bowed to public pressure on Saturday, announcing she was pulling her highly contentious extradition law bill from Legco for the time being, after a week that saw a million-strong protest march and violent battles between demonstrators and the police.

Lam said the suspension is needed to "restore peace and order" in Hong Kong and there is no timetable for when the legislation will be put back before Legco, even though she still believes the amendments are needed to plug a "loophole" in the law.

The CE was repeatedly asked whether she would resign over the crisis, but failed to give a direct answer, saying only that she still has a lot of work to do.

"The government has decided to suspend the legislative amendment exercise, restart our communication with all sectors of society, do more explanation work and listen to different views of society," she said.

"The council will halt its work in relation to the bill until our work in communication, explanation and listening to opinions is completed. We have no intention to set a deadline for this work."

At a media briefing, Lam said she feels "deep sorrow and regret" that the "deficiencies" in her administration's work on the extradition bill have stirred up so much controversy in society after a relatively peaceful couple of years.

She said her administration would adopt a "most sincere and humble" attitude to accept criticism and make improvements "so that we can continue to connect with the people of Hong Kong".

Lam added that the urgency to pass the law changes has been lost since Taiwan ruled out seeking the extradition of a Hong Kong man – wanted for the murder of his girlfriend in Taipei last year – under the new legislation the SAR is planning.

Pressure had been mounting on Lam to abandon the law changes that would allow extraditions to the mainland, with some of her own advisers publicly warning her to reverse course in light of the escalating political turmoil in the city.

Dozens of people were injured when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at large crowds of protesters who had gathered around the Legislative Council on Wednesday to stop lawmakers debating the bill.

Despite the police clearance of the streets, the protesters achieved their goal, and Legco's planned meetings to discuss the extradition law changes were called off for three days in a row.

A furious public reaction to the sight of young people being teargassed and shot with rubber bullets added to the pressure on Lam to put a stop to the confrontations, with the police accused of using an excessive amount of force against demonstrators.

Meanwhile, foreign envoys and business chambers continued to raise concerns about the law amendments and the speed at which the government appeared to be determined to get them passed.

Pro-democracy activists have been gearing up for another protest march on Sunday, as well as a general strike and rally on Monday.

Before Lam's media briefing, the Civil Human Rights Front said suspending the bill would not be not good enough, and the protest action would continue as planned.

While Beijing had expressed its support for the SAR government's handling of the protests, its liaison office in Hong Kong had been silent on the massive show of public opposition to the bill.

A media report said Lam had met Vice Premier Han Zheng in Shenzhen on Friday night to discuss the political turmoil. She refused to comment on the report during the press briefing.