Hong Kong leader announces suspension of controversial extradition bill

Hong Kong will suspend a controversial China extradition bill, its leader said Saturday, in an apparent bid to quell further unrest and mass demonstrations throughout the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

Speaking after consultations with lawmakers, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said passage of the bill would be suspended and a second reading due to take place this month canceled. There is no timeline for discussions around the bill to resume, Lam said, and she indicated it likely will not pass this year.

"We have made many attempts to narrow differences and eliminate doubts," Lam said. "In the last week, tens of thousands of people took part in protests and gatherings. Serious conflicts broke out ... resulting in a number of police officers, media workers and other members of the public being injured. I am saddened by this."

She added that in suspending the bill she hoped the government could "restore calmness" to society. Failure to do so would "deal another blow to the society," Lam said.

The extradition bill, which would cover Hong Kong’s 7 million residents as well as foreign and Chinese nationals in the city, was seen by many as a threat to the rule of law in the former British colony.

Around a million people marched through Hong Kong last Sunday to oppose the bill, according to protest organisers, the largest since protests in the city against the bloody suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations centred around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.

Demonstrations continued through the week and were met with tear gas, bean bag rounds and rubber bullets from police, plunging the city into turmoil and piling heavy pressure on Lam.

Addressing the media, Saturday, Lam blamed herself for failure to communicate effectively to the public. She said the original driving force of the bill was a murder case in Taiwan, in which the alleged perpetrator, a Hong Kong man, fled to the city. That case, Lam said, highlighted "loopholes" in the current law with regards to Greater China.

Hong Kong is governed by China under a “one country, two systems” deal that guarantees it special autonomy, including freedom of assembly, free press and independent judiciary.

Many accuse Beijing of extensive meddling since then, including obstruction of democratic reforms, interference with elections and of being behind the disappearance of five Hong Kong-based booksellers, starting in 2015, who specialised in works critical of Chinese leaders.

The Chinese government has denied that it has overreached in Hong Kong.