Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam suspends extradition bill, but won’t apologise for rift it caused or withdraw it altogether
- Chief executive insists justification for bill was sound, but concedes there were inadequacies in her handling of affair
- In 75-minute press briefing she defends use of police force and says she will not be resigning
Hong Kong’s leader announced on Saturday that she was backing down and suspending her contentious extradition bill, but refused to withdraw it altogether or apologise for the serious conflicts caused by her government’s campaign to bulldoze it through the legislature.
While conceding inadequacies in her handling of the controversy and asking for a second chance to do a better job of building a consensus, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor insisted her justification for changing the city’s extradition laws was sound, and brushed aside calls for her resignation in light of the rift in society and violent protests triggered by her push for the bill.
“After repeated internal deliberations over the last two days, I now announce that the government has decided to suspend the legislative amendment exercise, restart our communication with all sectors of society, do more explanation work and listen to different views of society,” she said at the start of a 75-minute media session to announce the big “pause”.
Lam defended the use of force by police who fired tear gas, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds to fend off protesters who blocked lawmakers from debating the bill on Wednesday, saying the crackdown had been “reasonable and natural”.
She also insisted her climbdown, after weeks of sticking to her guns, was her own decision and not made by Beijing, which was informed about it and supported her.