離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Hong Kong shelves divisive legislation
Police stand guard near the Legislative Council complex in Hong Kong yesterday. Photo: AFP
WHAT NEXT? Carrie Lam rejected calls to step down by opponents of the extradition law, who said that a planned rally would proceed to keep pressure on her
/ AFP, HONG KONG
Hong Kong’s embattled leader yesterday suspended a hugely divisive bill that would allow extraditions to China in a major climbdown following unprecedented unrest, but protesters vowed to press ahead with a mass rally today.
The international finance hub was on Wednesday rocked by the worst political violence since its 1997 handover to China as tens of thousands of protesters were dispersed by riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
Those clashes came three days after Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam （林鄭月娥） refused to be budged by a record rally in which organizers said that more than 1 million people marched through the streets calling for the Beijing-backed bill to be scrapped.
After days of mounting pressure — including from her own allies — Lam relented yesterday, announcing that work on the bill would be halted.
Hong Kong’s leader set no deadline for its reintroduction, but stopped short of saying that it was permanently scrapped.
The decision was a rare concession from the territory’s pro-Beijing leaders, who have successfully faced down demands from pro-democracy demonstrators in the past few years.
However, opponents were unmoved and said that they would go ahead with a march this afternoon, hoping that another huge turnout would pile more pressure on the territory’s beleaguered leader.
Protest leaders called for Lam to step down and said that they would only be mollified by a permanent cancelation of the extradition bill.
They also demanded that police drop rioting charges against protesters and for authorities to apologize for using “excessive force,” an accusation police officers have denied.
Jimmy Sham （岑子傑）, from the main protest group the Civil Human Rights Front, likened the extradition bill to a “knife” that had been plunged into the territory.
“It’s almost reached our heart. Now the government said they won’t push it, but they also refuse to pull it out,” he said.
Lam said that she had no plans to resign.
She defended the need to overhaul the territory’s extradition laws and said that she retained the support of the Chinese central government.
“I feel deep sorrow and regret that the deficiencies in our work and various other factors have stirred up substantial controversies and disputes in society following the relatively calm periods of the past two years,” Lam said.
The unprecedented chaos in Hong Kong came at a sensitive time for China, already on edge over the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
“We support, respect and understand this decision,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang （耿爽） said in a statement.
Tensions would likely dissipate in the short term if today’s rally remains calm, political analyst Dixon Sing （成名） said.
“In the next few months there will be at least a truce,” Sing told reporters. “But the anxiety that this draft bill will be passed in the future, that will remain for quite some time.”
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
