Hong Kong City/IBNS: In a major development, Hong Kong's legislature has formally withdrawn a controversial extradition bill which had triggered violent protests in the city for the past several months.
The bill - which would have allowed for criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China - prompted outrage when it was introduced in April, reported BBC.
The bill was earlier suspended amid protests that paralyzed the city for the past several months.
Following weeks of violent protests in the city, the Chinese government is planning to replace Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, media reports said.
The government is planning to replace her with an “interim” chief executive.
People briefed on the deliberations told Financial Times that if Xi Jinping, China’s president, decided to go ahead, Lam’s successor would be installed by March and cover the remainder of her term, which ends in 2022. They would not necessarily stay on for a full five-year term afterwards.
Leading candidates to succeed Lam include Norman Chan, former head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Henry Tang, son of a textile magnate who has also served as the territory’s financial secretary and chief secretary for administration, the people told the newspaper.
The protests are a big challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping who assumed power seven years ago.
The protesters say they are fighting to preserve the “one country, two systems” arrangement and a promise of freedom under which Hong Kong was returned to China as a specially administered region by the British in 1997.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
