Carrie Lam Says Her Extradition Bill Is 'dead'

The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, on Tuesday declared that her extradition bill is "dead" and said her administration's handling of the proposed law amendments has been a "complete failure".

Lam said she felt the need to clarify the status of the contentious bill after realising that people are still concerned that it might be resurrected and resubmitted to the Legislative Council in future.

However, she did not confirm that the already suspended legislation is being completely withdrawn – a key demand of protesters who have repeatedly taken to the streets in huge numbers for a month now.

"I almost immediately put a stop to the amendment exercise. But there are still lingering doubts about the government's sincerity or worries whether the government will restart the process in the Legislative Council. So I reiterate here, there is no such plan. The bill is dead," she said.

On July 2, the CE had said during a press conference at police headquarters, following the storming of Legco by protesters, that the bill "will die" at the end of the current legislative term – in July 2020.

Speaking before heading into Tuesday's meeting of the Executive Council, Lam said the government's work on the bill had simply not been good enough and her team did not have a good grasp of the public's views on it.

Lam said she was saddened by the political crisis the bill saga has caused, and she also admitted that the government has so far failed to address some deep-seated problems in society.

"Please give us an opportunity, the time, the room, for us to take Hong Kong out of the current impasse and try to improve the current situation," she said.

Asked by reporters whether she would resign as chief executive over the affair, Lam replied that she would not and said she intends to continue to serve the people.

The proposed changes to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance would enable one-off extradition deals to be struck with any jurisdiction in the world on a case-by-case basis.

But there are widespread fears in Hong Kong that the new legislation would allow the mainland authorities to demand the surrender of Beijing critics, and it would remove the firewall between the very different judicial systems on either side of the border.

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