 |
| A placard is displayed during a protest following a day of violence over a proposed extradition bill, near the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong, China, June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva |
Cracks appeared to emerge on Friday in the support base for a proposed Hong Kong law that would allow extraditions to China as opponents of the bill vowed further demonstrations after hundreds of thousands took to the streets this week.
The extradition bill, which will cover Hong Kong residents and foreign and Chinese nationals living or travelling in the city, has many concerned it may threaten the rule of law that underpins Hong Kongโs international financial status.
Opposition to the bill on Sunday triggered the former British colonyโs biggest political demonstration since its return to Chinese rule in 1997 under a โone country, two systemsโ deal guaranteeing it special autonomy, including freedom of assembly, free press and independent judiciary.
Many accuse China of extensive meddling since then, including obstruction of democratic reforms, interference with elections and of being behind the disappearance of five Hong Kong-based booksellers, starting in 2015, who specialised in works critical of Chinese leaders.
On Friday, one of the key advisers to Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, Executive Council member Bernard Chan, told Cable TV he did not think formal discussion of the bill, a precursor to a final vote by the legislature, should continue at present.
โDo we consult, strengthen the bill, or what? Is there still any chance of the bill passing? These are all factors the government must consider,โ he said.
โBut I definitely say that right now itโs not possible โ at a time when there are such intense divisions โ to keep discussing this issue. The difficulty is very high.โ
Michael Tien, a member of Hong Kongโs legislature and a deputy to Chinaโs national parliament, urged the city government to put the bill on hold.
And 22 former government officials or Legislative Council members, including former security secretary Peter Lai Hing-ling, signed a statement calling on Lam to โyield to public opinion and withdraw the Bill for more thorough deliberationโ.
โIt is time for Hong Kong to have a cool-down period,โ Lai told Reuters. โLet frayed tempers settle before we resume discussion of this controversial issue. Please, no more blood-letting!โ
โVAIN PLOTSโ
Beijing-backed Lam has stood by the bill, saying it is necessary to plug loopholes that allow criminals wanted on the mainland to use the city as a haven. She has said Hong Kong courts would safeguard human rights.
Lam has not appeared in public or commented since Wednesday.
China, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party, has rejected accusations of undermining Hong Kongโs freedoms.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Hong Kong matters were an internal affair for China and nobody had a right to interfere.
โAny vain plots to cause chaos in Hong Kong or to damage Hong Kongโs prosperity and stability will be resolutely opposed by the whole people of China including the vast majority of Hong Kong compatriots,โ he said. โThis does not enjoy popular support and will not succeed.โ
The proposed bill has thrown Hong Kong, one of the worldโs most densely populated cities, into chaos, starting on Sunday with a march that drew what organisers said was more than a million people.
Tens of thousands demonstrated in the following days. On Wednesday, protesters surrounded the legislature and swarmed on to a major highway, before being forced back by riot police firing volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets.
On Friday, police kept a close watch as the city returned to normal, with most protesters retreating and banks re-opening.
But further demonstrations are planned.
Organisers have urged people to take to the streets on Sunday and protesters have applied for a permit to gather on Monday, when legislators may reconvene to discuss the bill. The Confederation of Trade Unions and Professional Teachers Union called for a citywide strike.
โSTARK PROVOCATIONโ
A few dozen demonstrators clustered on Friday near the legislature, which had been scheduled to debate the bill this week.
โWe are going to be here fixed today to show people that we are here to support. Everyone is planning for a big march on Sunday like last week but no one knows what will happen at night or after,โ said a woman surnamed Chan, who was helping at a makeshift first aid and supply station.
Police have made more than a dozen arrests, some in hospitals and university campuses, while scores were wounded in the clashes.
In the United States, senior congressional lawmakers from both parties introduced legislation to require an annual justification from the U.S. government for the continuation of special business and trade privileges to Hong Kong. China called on the United States not to pass such legislation.
The hawkish Chinese newspaper, the Global Times, lambasted foreign leaders for being hypocrites and said their failure to condemn violent demonstrators was โa stark provocationโ.
