Beijing supports me all the way, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says, stressing decision to withdraw extradition bill was hers
- Lam also insists she has not changed her mind, saying withdrawal no different in substance to earlier decisions to suspend or call bill ‘dead’
- Unimpressed opposition lawmakers say chief executive has failed to explain how move will end the social unrest
The decision to withdraw the contentious extradition bill was hers, Hong Kong’s embattled leader has stressed, as she revealed that the central government had been supportive of her “all the way” and fully understood and respected her calls over the entire three-month-long crisis.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Thursday also maintained she had not changed her mind over the bill, saying the legislation’s withdrawal was no different in substance to her earlier decisions to suspend it on June 15 or call it “dead” on July 9.
In announcing her decision on Wednesday, Lam also ruled out a second key demand from protesters – the setting up of an independent commission of inquiry to investigate police conduct when tackling demonstrations.
Asked about it at a press conference a day later, the chief executive said the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) would conduct a fact-finding exercise instead and warned against labelling the watchdog a pro-establishment body on the basis that no opposition politician had been appointed to the council in recent years.
I have announced a package of four actions. I hope that it will provide a basis for a dialogue and help Hong Kong to break the current impasse
“It is a credible and independent statutory body and everyone I have appointed to the IPCC takes their independence seriously. We should not doubt them,” she said.
