It’s not too late for Lam to change course on the extradition bill
- Beijing is now insisting that the move to amend the city’s extradition laws was the Hong Kong government’s idea all along
- If that’s the case, then the chief executive can take full responsibility, open the door to further public consultation and negotiation, and then fall on her own sword
Amid the protests and chaos, many prominent people from all sides have been debating heatedly whether it was the Hong Kong government’s own initiative to amend the city’s extradition laws, not Beijing.
I have always thought this unlikely. Even if it were so, it seemed academic to argue it now. The central government has openly voiced support for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s hardline approach in pushing ahead with the bill, despite a million people protesting against it.
As Lau Siu-kai, the vice-chairman of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, explained: “No matter [whether] it is Lam’s initiative, it is now an affair involving the authority of the central government.”
That maybe so. But, let’s consider another possibility. Suppose Lam is willing to take full responsibility, open the door to further public consultation and negotiation, and then fall on her own sword.
By the way, it won’t be such a huge self-sacrifice. Having created such a mess, Lam will not be looked on kindly by the central government.
Hong Kong government working to defuse extradition bill crisis, ‘considering pause’
It’s intriguing that Beijing is now insisting that it was Hong Kong’s idea all along. Speaking on the BBC, China’s ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, became the first official to deny publicly that Beijing was behind the controversial bill.
Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong’s only representative on the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, made the same point: “As Lam said, it is [the] Hong Kong government’s own matter.”
Interestingly, Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the liaison office in Hong Kong, usually not shy about making their views known, have remained mostly silent on the extradition issue.
Now, if it is Hong Kong’s own idea, it can take the initiative again to change course. It’s true the central government has expressed support for the bill in principle, but there are other, more important, external considerations: the trade war with the United States and the presidential election in Taiwan next year.
Politicians in the US Congress have already moved to make Hong Kong part of their anti-China campaign. Who’s to say the Trump White House won’t follow suit?
Meanwhile, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has regained popularity by rallying mistrust of Beijing on the island; the million-people protest in Hong Kong was a godsend for her.
By sacrificing herself, Lam will help resolve key issues on so many fronts. And Hongkongers can forgive and take her back.
