Carrie Lam Denies News Report She Tried To Quit

The Chief Executive's Office has denied a Financial Times report that Carrie Lam tried to submit her resignation to Beijing multiple times in recent weeks, only to be told to stay and clean up the mess over the extradition bill.

Responding to RTHK inquiries, the office said the Chief Executive has never offered to step down.

The British-based newspaper quoted sources as saying that Lam had told Beijing she wanted to stand down but was told that no one else wanted the job.

The FT quoted the Chief Executive's Office as saying that Lam had made clear she remained committed to "serving the people of Hong Kong".

University of Hong Kong constitutional law scholar Danny Gittings said the denial was "not in the kind of strenuous terms that you would normally expect for that kind of story".

"We have to watch very closely; particularly once a report is out like that suggesting that the Chief Executive herself has realised that her time is up, these sort of things can become almost a self-fulfilling prophecy," he told RTHK's Mike Weeks on Monday.

"There will presumably be stronger denials today, but these denials normally tell their own story – how strenuous they are or otherwise. The initial denial just said the Chief Executive was committed to serving the people of Hong Kong, which could mean anything."

Lam has been under pressure after a series of protests over her attempts to change extradition laws to clear the way for fugitives to be sent to any jurisdiction, including the mainland, on an ad hoc basis.

She has declared the bill dead and put legislative work on hold, but has not fully withdrawn it. She has also declined calls to set up a public inquiry and give protesters arrested in recent clashes an amnesty.

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