Critics Say Govt Has Lost Face Over Bill

Critics of the government's planned extradition law changes said on Saturday that the controversy over the move has highlighted the failure of the administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Democratic Party lawmaker James To said that even if Lam were to withdraw the bill, she must still step down because she has lost all credibility.

To said simply suspending the bill for now and then bringing it back to Legco in October after the summer break would not be acceptable, and the government had to withdraw it entirely.

He also called on Lam to "do the honourable thing" and resign.

He noted that her resignation would have to be accepted by the Central government, which would have to find a replacement.

"But in any event, the credibility of our Chief Executive has already been written off," To said, also calling on Lam to offer the people of Hong Kong "a sincere apology".

Separately, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Chua Hoi-wai, said the massive public opposition to the legislation over the past week shows how badly the government had failed to listen to the public.

Chua said the Carrie Lam administration needed to look at how it could do better from now on, and warned that it should not assume that it knows best.

"Nowadays many people can have very different views, and before the government formulates any concrete proposal or decision, they should really listen to people's views - and I think that would help the government to improve the governance," Chua said.

He said people had lost confidence in the administration, and predicted that they would take to the streets in another protest march on Sunday even if the government shelved the bill.

Organisers of a march against the bill last weekend say more than a million people took part, although police put the number at 240,000 at its peak.