Hong Kong’s leader is going all out to push her controversial extradition bill through the city’s legislature, instructing top officials to present a united front in backing it publicly and reminding them that her credibility and ability to govern are on the line, according to sources. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is facing her worst political crisis since taking the top job nearly two years ago, but expects to secure enough votes from her allies in the Legislative Council to pass the bill, which would allow the transfer of fugitives from Hong Kong to other jurisdictions with which the city has no extradition deal – including mainland China. After last Saturday’s unprecedented clashes in Legco between pro-establishment lawmakers and their opposition rivals, as both sides tried to take control of the committee that would scrutinise the bill, attempts to hold another formal meeting on Tuesday were abandoned with neither camp willing to compromise. The pan-democrats called for a three-way meeting with their rivals and the government to find a solution, but it was shot down by the city’s No 2 official, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, who left it to the legislature to sort out how the bills committee should get started on its work. She suggested that by derailing or not attending the committee’s meeting, the pan-democrats were trying to force the government to withdraw the bill, but it would not work Government source Lam’s popularity has taken a beating as the extradition controversy rages on, primarily over concerns that Hongkongers could be victimised under a different legal system on the mainland. Two government sources on Tuesday said Lam was doubling down, as she felt her governance would be undermined if she caved in to political pressure and shelved the bill. Extraditions from Hong Kong to mainland China ‘violate Basic Law’ They said Lam had recently instructed her top officials to support the bill. “She suggested that by derailing or not attending the committee’s meeting, the pan-democrats were trying to force the government to withdraw the bill, but it would not work,” one source said. “If we retract the bill like that, does it mean we have to do something similar when a minority in the legislature doesn’t like a government proposal? How can we continue to govern?” Another source drew a comparison with how Lam’s administration had been forced to shelve its plans to overhaul tunnel tolls in March because it could not get enough support in the legislature. The source cited Lam as urging her ministers to show their support for the bill, and warning that – having already backed down on the tunnel toll plan – the government would become a “lame-duck administration” if it were to scrap the extradition bill as well. There was more drama on Tuesday in Legco as opposing sides tried to take over the bills committee meeting scheduled for the morning. Extradition bill stalemate continues as efforts at compromise fail Pro-establishment veteran Abraham Razack, officially the presiding chairman of the bills committee, said he would seek direction from the House Committee on how to proceed, having cancelled his meeting. “We have seen repeated commotions and disturbances, someone tried to snatch my microphone, and there was no way I could carry out an orderly meeting. To prevent further injury and disruption, I have called off the meeting,” Razack said, in reference to Saturday’s scuffles, during which one lawmaker was hospitalised. Razack said on Tuesday he would no longer be the presiding member, but later retracted the remarks. It was not clear if the House Committee would dissolve the bills committee and put the bill to a vote directly before the entire legislature – a drastic step the government’s political allies have threatened to take. Democratic Party veteran James To Kun-sun, the opposition camp’s choice for bills committee chairman, called for a tripartite meeting to resolve the issue. “We have heard a lot of voices from society in recent days, asking if both camps can negotiate or reconcile,” To said. But the chief secretary turned down the suggestion as he faced the media in the afternoon alongside Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu. “If the tripartite talk is about the internal procedures of the Legislative Council, which is the issue at the moment, arguing about who should be the chairman of the committee concerned, but not the substance of the bill, not the content of the bill, then it will be inappropriate for the administration, for the executive authorities, to intervene in what is essentially an internal procedural issue of the legislature,” Cheung said. Opposition lawmakers countered that it would be a dereliction of duty if officials refused to negotiate. “It’s almost embarrassing that he tried to reduce what has been happening in Legco to a game of musical chairs,” pan-democrat convenor Claudia Mo Man-ching said. Mo also said it was “irresponsible” of Lam to double down just to protect her own ability to govern. “Proper governance depends on the ability of the leader to listen to public opinion,” she said. Hong Kong’s fraught extradition plan gets mainland Chinese backing However, pro-establishment legislator Priscilla Leung Mei-fun said the chief executive should not back down as it could hurt her credibility. “We don’t want a repeat of Basic Law Article 23 legislation,” she said, referring to how the government was forced to give up its push for national security legislation under the city’s mini-constitution after a massive public backlash 2003. Meanwhile, at the High Court, former civil servant Kwok Cheuk-kin has applied for a judicial review over the Legco secretary general Kenneth Chen Wei-on’s earlier decision to replace To with Razack as committee chairman following a vote on paper. Separately, Claudia Roth, vice-president of the German parliament, expressed great concern over Hong Kong’s extradition bill. Lawmaker Dennis Kwok, who is on a six-day visit to Germany, quoted Roth saying the parliament would press the German foreign ministry to look into the issue. Additional reporting by Jeffie Lam