Hong Kong government condemns ‘disorderly and uncontrollable conditions’ after Legco chaos halts meeting of committee reviewing extradition bill
- Pan-democrats and pro-establishment groups clash after each attempts to hold separate hearings into controversial proposal
- Pan-democrat Gary Fan collapses as politicians push and shove each other near Legco meeting room
The Legislative Council descended into unprecedented chaos on Saturday when the two rival camps clashed during a meeting on the contentious extradition bill, in what the government condemned as “extremely disorderly and uncontrollable conditions”.
Both the pro-establishment and the pan-democratic camps later filed reports with police about the clash, which forced the meeting to adjourn and left a lawmaker hospitalised and at least three others claiming injuries.
The clash broke out as the pro-democracy and pro-government camps called separate meetings of a Legco committee that scrutinises the bill, which would allow a case-by-case transfer of fugitives with jurisdictions Hong Kong lacks a formal extradition deal with, including mainland China and Taiwan.
At the height of the tussles, scores of pan-democrats were seen trying to break through a cordon of pro-establishment camp lawmakers, who had surrounded 73-year-old Abraham Razack, the newly appointed presiding member of the bills committee.
In a statement issued on Saturday night, the government regretted that the lawmakers had failed to elect a chairman of the committee after three meetings, and urged them to resume rational discussions and peaceful exchanges.
“The government expressed utmost regret over the extremely disorderly and uncontrollable conditions resulting in bodily injuries caused by serious disruptions [in the bills committee],” it said, adding the event was unprecedented in the Legco’s history.
“We are also gravely concerned that if this situation continues, it would have an adverse impact on the scrutiny of the bill in Legco,” the statement read.