Hong Kong leader to announce withdrawal of extradition bill

Hong Kong leader to announce withdrawal of extradition bill
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam will announce on Wednesday (September 4) the formal withdrawal of an extradition bill that triggered months of unrest and has thrown the Chinese-controlled city into its worst crisis in decades, Cable TV and other media said.

The protests in the former British colony began in June over the bill, which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but have since evolved into a push for greater democracy.

It was not immediately clear if the announcement, which the South China Morning Post newspaper said was due later on Wednesday, would help end the unrest.

The chief executive’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI jumped after the report, trading up about 3.3%. The property index also jumped 6 percent.

Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that allows it to keep freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, like the freedom to protest and an independent legal system, hence the anger at the extradition bill and perceived creeping influence by Beijing.

Riot police fired beanbag guns and used pepper spray - both anti-riot weapons - on Tuesday to clear demonstrators from outside the Mong Kok police station and in Prince Edward metro station, with one man taken out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face, television footage showed.

China denies it is meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs but warned again on Tuesday that it would not sit idly by if the unrest threatened Chinese security and sovereignty.

Based on Reuters

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