Hong Kong youth official praises young protesters’ victory in extradition bill crisis in bid to pacify angry students

A Hong Kong youth official has said the city’s young people scored a victory with the suspension of the contentious extradition bill – even as angry students continue their threats to besiege government headquarters in pursuit of more concessions.

Lau Ming-wai, the deputy chairman of the Youth Development Commission, said on Wednesday he wanted young protesters to know they had already succeeded in changing the government’s course on the unpopular bill, which critics feared would lead to unfair trials in mainland China.

But Lau, a former chairman of the now-defunct Commission on Youth, and whose father launched a short-lived legal challenge to the bill, also said he hoped the city’s youth would not escalate the current situation.

“[Young protesters] have succeeded: the government can no longer legislate the bill, if you look at it pragmatically,” Lau told the Post.

“My worry is that the violent clashes could return – because anyone could issue a demand in a protest that has no leader – and there could be miscalculations.”

He called on local leaders, including school principals, university presidents and religious officials, to talk to young people and help prevent the recent crisis from escalating.

Student leaders, meanwhile, said they planned to surround government headquarters if the city’s embattled chief executive, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, does not meet their four demands by 5pm on Thursday.

The demands are to withdraw the extradition bill, cancel a designation of the protests as a riot, drop prosecutions of protesters and investigate whether police used excessive force in clashes with demonstrators.

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Lau said he supported an investigation into police violence.

“People who use force improperly should be held accountable,” he said. “I was saddened to see the scenes of Hong Kong people attacking other Hong Kong people.”

Last month, Lau’s father – the fugitive tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung – surprised many by abruptly dropping a legal challenge against the extradition bill. He is wanted in Macau having been jailed in absentia for bribery, and faced extradition under the proposed changes.

“I have been holding back from commenting on this issue given my father’s case,” the younger Lau said.

He said he decided to break his silence after the bill was suspended, saying the “young protesters have won”.

He urged the government to mend its relationship with the city’s youth by opening itself up to reforms proposed by young people.

“They should go and ask young people what the government can do better in future,” he said.

Despite Lam’s second apology, many young people remain unsatisfied with the government.

William Chan Wai-lam, acting president of the standing committee of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said his group might peacefully besiege government headquarters on Friday morning if their demands are not met.

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He also called on Hongkongers to join “self-initiated civil disobedience movements in any peaceful means possible”, including by blocking MTR stations.

Several student unions have agreed to join the threatened sit-in, including groups from Chinese University, the Academy for Performing Arts, City University, Education University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Hang Seng University.

Kex Leung Yiu-ting, president of the provisional executive council of Education University’s student union, said he was angry that Lam never recognised citizens’ fear of the extradition bill and distrust of mainland China’s legal system.

“She kept saying the government hasn’t done enough explaining and refused to admit it was the bill itself that caused so much chaos,” he said. “How can anyone who had been tear-gassed – or whose children had been tear-gassed – accept what she said?”

Leung said if Lam wanted to reconcile with young people, the first thing she needed to do was withdraw the bill and stop prosecuting protesters.

“Just by doing this she can greatly encourage young people because no government leader has ever answered to our demands before,” he said.

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Teddy Tang Chun-keung, principal of the Hong Kong Management Association K S Lo College, said the school would monitor pupils’ emotional states in the short term and would provide counselling or other help when necessary.

Michael Wong Wai-yu, an executive committee member of the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, urged the government to launch an in-depth review of the crisis and make a comprehensive report on its social causes and improvement recommendations.

“It’s a pity that the government did not have any review of the anti-national education protests in 2012, the Occupy movement in 2014 or the Mong Kok riot in 2016,” Wong said.

Separately, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung called for understanding among students and youth in a letter to state-run Chinese-language newspaper Ta Kung Pao on Thursday.

“Hong Kong is our home, we are united and in the same boat,” the letter read.

“In a pluralistic society, everyone naturally has different opinions, but as long as there are mutual understanding, rational discussions and acceptance… we can seek consensus to make this ship sail smoothly and keep moving forward.”

He added the Education Bureau would continue to understand students’ needs and provide support, and urged principals, teachers and parents to give young people more guidance and support.