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SCMP Editorial

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is still struggling to regain public trust a month after her unpopular, and now suspended, extradition bill called into question her governance.
After some soul-searching, the embattled chief executive yesterday officially sounded the bill’s death knell and suggested a series of initiatives to better engage the public in a renewed attempt to halt further protests and restore confidence in her government.
These are necessary steps in a make-or-break attempt to bail Hong Kong out of its worst political crisis in recent times. But whether Lam succeeds depends on how well she can continue to govern from such a weak position.
It must be hard for a self-assured leader such as Lam to swallow her pride and declare “the bill is dead” and the legislative work “a total failure”.




However, she is still refusing to withdraw the bill and instead is urging people not to dwell on terminology, saying there is no chance of it being revived.
Still, the public may be excused for thinking Lam is the one who is playing with semantics. If the bill is as dead as described, why can’t it simply be withdrawn?
Similarly, an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Council, rather than a commission of inquiry, into clashes between officers and protesters continues to deepen the divide.
Police slammed for ‘goading protesters and hiding identities’ in Mong Kok chaos
Lam admitted the demands of protesters could not be fully met, referring to unspecified “factors and concerns”.
Inevitably, the government is facing constraints when deciding on how best to defuse the current crisis, but many of those who took to the streets in the hundreds of thousands in the past few weeks believe their demands are still falling on deaf ears.
Unless more practical steps are taken, there will remain stumbling blocks to reconciliation.




The need for frank and open dialogue with the city’s youth has become more urgent as peaceful protests are increasingly marred by violence involving some radical youngsters.
Offers to openly meet with university students without prerequisites and to overhaul the government consultative machinery are positive steps forward.
But the government needs to go beyond conventional channels to reach out to a broader spectrum of people.
Pro-Beijing party cancels annual dinner fearing it would be gatecrashed
The mass protests comprise those from different walks of life who share not only discontent with the bill, but also with Lam’s governance and the wider issue of how the “one country, two systems” formula has evolved in recent years.
As Lam rightly acknowledged, moving from the 2014 Occupy protests without tackling the more fundamental problems was a mistake we cannot afford to repeat.
Beyond the rhetoric for reconciliation and change, there needs to be deeper reflections, wider public engagement and more concrete measures to genuinely rebuild Hong Kong.


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Ex-lawmaker charged with rioting tells Hong Kong court he only went to scene of mob attack in 2019 as he feared ‘something bad might happen’

Hong Kong extradition bill

Hong Kong needs to learn from past if it is to move forward

A man sits in front of riot police during protests against the proposed extradition bill in Hong Kong on Sunday. Photo: Felix Wong

Hong Kong’s controversial extradition bill may be ‘dead’ but city leader Carrie Lam still unable to win over her critics

Carrie Lam stood firm on not setting up a top-level probe into clashes between police and protesters. Photo: Felix Wong

Anti-extradition bill protesters flee from clouds of tear gas on Queensway Road in Admiralty, outside of Pacific Place. 12JUN19 SCMP / Nora Tam

Chief executive Carrie Lam speaks during a media briefing before EXCO meeting at the Chief Executive's Office in Tamar. Lam said controversial legislation that would allow extraditions to China was "dead," her strongest indication yet that she would bow to weeks of mass protests and withdraw the bill. 09JUL19 SCMP/ Felix Wong

Anti-riot police officers (with pepper ball gun) on Harcourt Road in Admiralty, attempt to disperse the crowd of anti-extradition protesters away. 12JUN19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

Hong Kong police accused of provoking protesters and failing to wear ID during Mong Kok chaos after extradition bill march

Riot police officers try to disperse extradition bill protesters during a demonstration in the Mong Kok area of Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

Riot police move a woman as they clear Nathan Road during a protest in Hong Kong on Sunday, July 7, 2019. Protesters in Hong Kong are taking their message to visitors from mainland China on Sunday in a march to a high-speed rail station that connects to Guangdong city and other mainland destinations.  07JUL19 SCMP/ Dickson Lee

TOPSHOT - A protester is being hold on the floor by the police during a clash between protesters and police in the Mong Kok district in Kowloon after taking part in a march to the West Kowloon rail terminus against the proposed extradition bill in Hong Kong on July 7, 2019. - Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters rallied outside a controversial train station linking the territory to the Chinese mainland on July 7, the latest mass show of anger as activists try to keep pressure on the city's pro-Beijing leaders. (Photo by VIVEK PRAKASH / AFP)

Singaporeans support Hong Kong protests against controversial extradition bill, survey shows

Protesters march to the West Kowloon station in Hong Kong on July 7 to protest against the city’s controversial extradition bill. Photo: Sam Tsang

JPG for ONLINE

Image of the Speaker's Corner, an area located within Hong Lim Park, Singapore, where citizens and permanent residents of Singapore may demonstrate, hold exhibitions and performances, and speak freely on most topics after prior registration on a government website. 29MAY19 SCMP / Roy Issa

Protesters retreat as riot police clear the area around Admiralty in the early hours of July 02 after protesters stormed the Legislative Council Chamber in Tamar during a protest against the extradition bill on the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China held on July 1, 2019. 02JUL19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

Beijing slams Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai and US officials over Washington meetings on extradition bill, using words ‘national scum and Hong Kong sinners’

Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai (left) and US Vice-President Mike Pence in the White House on Monday. Photo: Mark Simon

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unveils the creation of Commission on Unalienable Rights, during an announcement at the US State Department in Washington, Monday, July 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Protesters march on East Point Road in Causeway Bay to the Central Government Offices in Tamar against the extradition bill and calling on city leader to resign. 16JUN19 SCMP / Robert Ng

Hong Kong pro-establishment camp divided by extradition bill fallout as Liberal Party’s James Tien calls on three Executive Council members to resign

Hong Kong’s legislature in disarray. Stormed by protesters, divided by warring politicians. Photo: Sam Tsang

Liberal Party Honorary Chairman James Tien Pei-chun attends a radio programme at RTHK radio in Kowloon Tong.  08JUL19 SCMP/ Edmond So

(left to right): Liberal Party's Tommy Cheung Yu-yan; Party LeaderÂ Felix Chung Kwok-pan; and James Tien Pei-chun meet the press after a meeting with Chief Executive-elect Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor at the Chief Executive-elect's office at the Champion Tower in Central. 08MAY17 SCMP / K. Y. Cheng

Opinion

Comment

Carrie Lam may have sounded death knell for extradition bill, but many remain unconvinced and greater efforts are needed to tackle discontent


Carrie Lam may have sounded death knell for extradition bill, but many remain unconvinced and greater efforts are needed to tackle discontent.


Carrie Lam

Legislative Council of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Basic Law

Anti-mainland China sentiments

Executive Council of Hong Kong

Crime in Hong Kong

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Editorial

Editorial | Hong Kong needs to learn from past if it is to move forward

Carrie Lam may have sounded death knell for extradition bill, but many remain unconvinced and greater efforts are needed to tackle discontent