Carrie Lam Reportedly Going to Formally Withdraw the Extradition Bill

By
George Yang
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In politics, words are very powderful.

A statement from one politician could have a ripple effect across society. A statement spoken with drive, strength and confidence could change society altogether, even if no actions are made.

But not in Hong Kong. At least, not at this moment.

Because if you’re apolitical like BuffLord95, you’d surely be wondering: Withdraw the Extradition Bill? Isn’t that bill “dead”?

Well, here’s what happened.

But before anything, you need to know what the bill is all about.

Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019

Commonly known as the Extradition Bill, the bill would allow Hong Kong to hand over anyone there who’s convicted of a crime to other places outside of Hong Kong, which includes China and Macau. They were, of course, previously not included.

The bill was introduced in February 2019 after a 19-year-old Hong Kong man murdered his girlfriend while holidaying in Taiwan. After he went back to Hong Kong, Taiwan requested for the man but Hong Kong couldn’t do so because of the lack of an extradition agreement.

Lest you’re not aware, a bill is like a proposal that has to be debated by lawmakers before they’re voted into laws.

Some people in Hong Kong are afraid that the new laws would be abused, and that the people in Hong Kong would be subjected to the reach of the China laws instead of their own laws.

That was the spark of the entire protest.

“Bill is Dead”

In July, Carrie Lam famously announced that the “bill is dead.”

But here’s the thing: to the protestors, that was just lip service as there has been no formal withdrawal of the Bill. Hong Kong could just revisit it and table the Bill again tomorrow if they so desire to.

The protestors therefore continued to protest, but it kind of went out of control: peaceful protests that started off to remove the bill have now turned into violent and disruptive protests that demanded democracy and answers for the police’s alleged brutality.

In the last few days, Carrie Lam was thrust into the spotlight again, this time for a leaked audio recording of a private meeting whereby she was heard saying, “If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit.”

The Chief Executive then claimed that she had not “tendered any resignation.”

And today, reports stated that the bill might finally be gone.

Reports State the Bill Would Be Formally Withdrawn

In a shock move that could rival a TVB plot, local reports alleged that after a planned meeting with pro-establishment political figures (i.e. authorities from China) today at 4:00 p.m., the Chief Executive has planned to formally withdraw the bill.

The news isn’t confirmed by Carrie Lam herself, and her spokesperson hasn’t commented about this rumour, but several media outlets, including South China Morning Post, received the scoop that has already shaken the Asian financial centre.

Upon the reports, the Hong Kong main stock benchmark went up by more than 3%. If you’ve watched shows like Designated Survivor or House of Cards, you’d know what that means: the people’s confidence’s surged together with the market.

In other words, people are happy, investors are confident, and the country becomes a tad steadier. Though it might just drop again if it’s revealed that the rumours are mere #fakenews

As of time of writing, Carrie Lam hasn’t made any formal announcement, and people in Hong Kong are still putting on masks and carrying umbrellas.

China’s National Day is on 1 October 2019, and since Hong Kong is part of China, her National Day falls on the same day as well.

Would it be a happy national day for the one country, two systems come next month?

Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]