Government may pause Hong Kong extradition bill in face of more mass protests
- Several heavyweight advisers tell Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam there is no need to stick to her self-imposed July deadline
- Executive Council convenor Bernard Chan advises government to re-evaluate situation in light of violence and widespread public backlash
Hong Kong’s embattled government was working to defuse the crisis over its controversial extradition bill with a possible pause for further discussion, sources told the South China Morning Post on Friday, with the clock ticking towards another showdown with protesters planning a mass rally on Sunday.
Several heavyweight advisers to the city’s leader suggested there was no need for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to meet a self-imposed July deadline to have the bill passed.
But divisions emerged within the Executive Council, with others suggesting she should stick to her guns and continue to fast-track it through the legislature.
Exco convenor Bernard Chan said it would be impossible to rush through the amended legislation, which would allow the transfer of fugitives from Hong Kong to mainland China and other jurisdictions with which the city has no extradition treaty, while fellow advisers Dr Lam Ching-choi and Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun both advocated taking a step back.
Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a vocal supporter of the bill in Exco, said he would not object to a deferral and called for talks to find a middle-ground solution.