Is Carrie Lam’s U-turn over Hong Kong extradition bill a gift for Chinese President Xi Jinping?
- Lam’s climbdown came as President Xi was celebrating his birthday while building international alliances and support for China
- Lam insisted she decided to pause the bill on her own but there is no doubt Beijing had critical input
June 16 was not a regular Saturday, at least for two people – Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
Lam, the embattled leader of the city, made a stunning U-turn on Saturday by putting the brakes on her highly contentious extradition bill, amid huge political pressure and in the face of continuous mass protests and international opposition.
Far away in the central Asian nation of Tajikistan, Xi was celebrating his 66th birthday with his good friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who presented him with a gift – his favourite Russian ice cream – as the two leaders were attending the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.
What Putin might not have been aware of was that Xi received perhaps an even better birthday present in the form of Lam’s climbdown.
The explanation is simple.