‘Five key demands, not one less’: Hong Kong protesters make clear that Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s bill withdrawal is not enough
- Protest camp unsatisfied by government move to scrap extradition bill – a move that came after 1,183 arrests
- Many take to social media, reminding comrades not to end citywide protest movement until all demands are met
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s announcement on Wednesday that the detested extradition bill which triggered months of anti-government protests would be formally withdrawn has left many protesters cold.
Comments posted on social media and statements made by various groups and individuals made it plain that it was not enough for the government to give in to only one of the protesters’ five demands.
LIHKG, the Reddit-like site which has been the de facto virtual command centre of the protest movement, was flooded with messages saying: “Five key demands, not one less.”
Aside from the withdrawal of the bill, the protesters had also demanded an independent probe into the use of force by police; amnesty for arrested protesters; a halt to categorising the protests as riots; and the implementation of universal suffrage.
On Wednesday, Lam said the government would withdraw the bill. Her announcement came after police fired more than 2,350 canisters of tear gas, hundreds of beanbag rounds and sponge grenades, the arrests of 1,183 people and a number of suicides said to be related to the unrest.