China ‘planning to replace Carrie Lam’ as Hong Kong withdraws extradition bill
Beijing has reportedly drawn up plans to replace Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam with an interim chief executive, as the territory’s legislature formally withdrew the controversial extradition bill that sparked months of protests.
There have been months of often-violent protests against Lam’s leadership in Hong Kong over concerns Beijing is tightening its grip on the financial hub.
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The scrapping of the bill, which would have allowed the extradition of suspects to mainland China, was one of protestors’ key demands.
Citing people briefed on the deliberations, the Financial Times reported that China would wait for the situation in Hong Kong to stabilise before moving to replace Lam next year, as Beijing does not want to be seen to giving in to violence.
The paper reported that if president Xi Jinping decided to go ahead with the move, Lam’s successor would be appointed in March next year and serve for the remainder of her term, which ends in 2022.
A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry dismissed the reports as a political rumour with ulterior motives.
Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protestors have taken to the streets in the territory since unrest was first sparked by the proposed bill June.
Demonstrators fear that Beijing eroding the freedoms afforded to Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” principle established when Britain returned the territory to China in 1997.
Although the scrapping of the extradition bill was a core demand of pro-democracy protestors, their rallying cry has been “five demands, not one less”, and it is widely expected that the withdrawal of the legislation will do nothing to counter the unrest.
Demonstrators are also calling for Lam’s resignation, an independent inquiry into the police’s response to the protests, universal suffrage, and amnesty for all those charged with rioting.
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In a leaked audio recording released by Reuters last month, Lam said she would step down if she could. “For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable,” she said.
“If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology,” Lam added. Following the release of the recording, Lam said she had never asked the Chinese government to let her resign.
Main image credit: Getty