Cincunri Sakia

Rabu, 04 September 2019

After months of protests, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam withdraws controversial extradition bill - CNN

The decision to cave in to one of protesters' five core demands marked a dramatic U-turn for Lam, who for months has refused to withdraw the bill.

"We must find ways to address the discontent in society and look for solutions," Lam said in a a video statement Wednesday evening. "After more than two months of social unrest, it is obvious to many that this discontentment extends far beyond the bill."

But Lam refused to give ground on protesters' four other demands, including greater democracy for the city and an independent commission into police conduct, saying all investigations would be carried out by the existing Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC).

Instead, she announced the addition of a former education bureau chief and former judge to the IPCC. Lam said the government's priority now was to restore law and order to Hong Kong. "Let's replace conflicts with conversations and let's look for solutions," she said.

Lam suspended the extradition bill in June after more than 1 million people marched against it, with protesters surrounding the city's legislature on the day of its planned second reading.

That suspension did not satisfy protesters, who demanded the bill's complete withdrawal -- making it harder for the government to rush the law through at a later date. A withdrawn bill would need to go back to the beginning of the legislative process, whereas a suspended one could resume where it left off.

In recent weeks, protesters' tactics have become increasingly violent as young people felt the government was refusing to consider their demands.

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Michael Tien said that Lam's withdrawal may not stem their anger. "I believe the withdrawal of the bill ... may be too late because this movement has become more than the bill," he said.

Activist Joshua Wong, who was last week arrested in a police sweep of activists and opposition politicians, wrote on Twitter: "Carrie Lam's repeated failure in understanding the situation has made this announcement completely out of touch - She needs to address to ALL Five Demands: STOP PROSECUTION, STOP CALLING US RIOTERS, INDEPENDENT INQUIRY OF POLICE and FREE ELECTION!"

Lam not resigning

Earlier this week, Lam denied that she had offered to resign over her handling of the crisis after a recording published Monday night of her at a meeting with business leaders was leaked to Reuters. On the tape, she can be heard saying she would have quit "if I have a choice."

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Lam said she had not "contemplated to discuss a resignation" with her mainland superiors.

In the recording, Lam can be heard saying the bill was "not something instructed, coerced by the central government."

"If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology," she said. "We were not sensitive enough to feel and grasp (the) huge degree of fear and anxiety amongst people of Hong Kong vis-à-vis the mainland of China."

"For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable," Lam added.

That may remain the view for many Hong Kongers even after the formal withdrawal of the bill. Many will be asking why it took three months of unprecedented unrest, violence and damage to the city's economy for the government to upgrade the bill from "suspended" to "withdrawn," despite repeatedly insisting that it had no future and would not be reintroduced.

Lam may be hoping that the move will put a lid on the protests ahead of October 1, when China will celebrate National Day and mark 70 years of the People's Republic.

But whether this will be the case remains highly uncertain.

"The nature of the protest movement has transformed over the last 13 weeks," said Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney.

"She will have to take further steps, such as setting up an independent inquiry into police conduct. If she does not take further steps, then we can expect the protests to continue."

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2019-09-04 11:48:00Z
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After months of protests, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam withdraws bill that started it all - CNN

The decision to cave in to one of protesters' five core demands marked a dramatic U-turn for Lam, who for months has refused to withdraw the bill.

Lam suspended the extradition bill in June after more than 1 million people marched against it, with protesters surrounding the city's legislature on the day of its planned second reading.

In recent weeks, protesters' tactics have become increasingly violent as young people felt the government was refusing to consider their demands.

Lam not resigning

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Lam said she had not "contemplated to discuss a resignation" with her mainland superiors.

In the recording, Lam can be heard saying the bill was "not something instructed, coerced by the central government."

"For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable," Lam added.

Lam may be hoping that the move will put a lid on the protests ahead of October 1, when China will celebrate National Day and mark 70 years of the People's Republic.

But whether this will be the case remains highly uncertain.

"The nature of the protest movement has transformed over the last 13 weeks," said Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney.

"She will have to take further steps, such as setting up an independent inquiry into police conduct. If she does not take further steps, then we can expect the protests to continue."

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/04/asia/hong-kong-carrie-lam-extradition-bill-intl-hnk/index.html

2019-09-04 10:48:00Z
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After months of protests, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam withdraws bill that started it all - CNN

The decision to cave in to one of protesters' five core demands marked a dramatic U-turn for Lam, who for months has refused to withdraw the bill.

Lam suspended the extradition bill in June after more than 1 million people marched against it, with protesters surrounding the city's legislature on the day of its planned second reading.

Prrotesters' tactics had become increasingly violent in recent weeks, as anger built among young people that the government had repeatedly refused to consider their demands.

Lam not resigning

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Lam said she had not "contemplated to discuss a resignation" with her mainland superiors.

In the recording, Lam can be heard saying the bill was "not something instructed, coerced by the central government."

"For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable," Lam added.

Lam may be hoping that the move will put a lid on the protests ahead of October 1, when China will celebrate National Day and mark 70 years of the People's Republic.

But whether this will be the case remains highly uncertain.

"The nature of the protest movement has transformed over the last 13 weeks," said Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney.

"She will have to take further steps, such as setting up an independent inquiry into police conduct. If she does not take further steps, then we can expect the protests to continue."

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2019-09-04 10:02:00Z
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Brexit: Winston Churchill's grandson to have whip removed - BBC News

Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Soames says being deselected is the "fortunes of war".

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, he said he had voted against the party just three times in 37 years, but joined 21 Tory MPs, including a number of ex-cabinet ministers and opposition parties to defeat the government.

Opposition MPs and some Conservative rebels want to delay the UK's departure from the European Union, due at the end of October, if agreement isn't reached with Brussels.

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2019-09-04 09:13:42Z
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Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam to Withdraw Extradition Bill That Sparked Protests - The Wall Street Journal

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam at a news conference on Tuesday. Photo: jerome favre/Shutterstock

Natasha Khan and

Natasha Khan

The Wall Street Journal

Biography
@natashakhanhk
natasha.khan@wsj.com

Neil Western

Updated Sept. 4, 2019 4:48 am ET

HONG KONG—Chief Executive Carrie Lam is set to withdraw the widely unpopular China extradition bill that sparked a tumultuous summer of unrest in the city, people familiar with the matter said.

The concession will meet one of five demands from the opposition movement and is likely aimed at weakening support for the protests from the wider population, though it isn't clear how successful the move will be in reducing the tensions that have gripped the city for three months.

Protests against the bill in June led Mrs. Lam to suspend the legislation—which would have allowed citizens to be sent for trial in mainland China’s opaque justice system—but her failure to formally scrap the proposal has fueled mass peaceful protests and more violent hard-core activists who have clashed with police.

What Hong Kong Protesters Want

What started off as a demonstration against a controversial extradition bill has become a series of massive protests with broad political demands. Here is why so many Hong Kongers keep taking to the streets in a leaderless movement and whether their goals can be achieved. Photo: Thomas Peter/Reuters

The protests have now morphed into a broader opposition movement with additional demands, including an inquiry into the Hong Kong Police Force’s handling of the demonstrations and calls for greater democracy, which has angered Beijing.

Hong Kong stocks jumped on reports of the planned legislation withdrawal. The city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 4% on Wednesday, its biggest one-day gain since November.

Mrs. Lam’s move is likely aimed at turning the tide of public opinion that has seen her approval ratings and satisfaction with the government hit record lows since China regained sovereignty over the former British colony in 1997.

Last week, Mrs. Lam told people at a private meeting that the unrest had become a national security and sovereignty issue for Beijing. That, she told attendees, limited her options in trying to end the political crisis, according to a leaked audio recording obtained by Reuters. The comments suggested a rift with officials in Beijing who have taken a tough stance against opposition voices, labeling the more radical violent protesters terrorists and revolutionaries.

At a Tuesday briefing, a spokesman for Beijing’s top body overseeing Hong Kong affairs said it was important for people to distinguish between peaceful protests and “violent crimes and activities challenging ‘one country, two systems,’” under which Hong Kong was promised 50 years of semiautonomy; its citizens have more freedoms than mainland Chinese citizens do.

Related Coverage

The unrest has torn a hole in Hong Kong’s economy, dented its reputation as an international finance center and a safe place to do business. Retailers and tourism have been sharply hit and a number of the city’s biggest companies—including developers and the city’s flagship airline Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. —are feeling the pain after being dragged into the conflict.

Thousands of workers went on strike this week and university students and high school schoolchildren across the city boycotted classes and staged playground protests, dashing government hopes that the opposition movement would peter out once school started again.

Mrs. Lam’s refusal to use the word “withdrawal” had angered many. She suspended the bill June 15, but a mass rally demanding she withdraw the bill a day later drew a record turnout of two million people, according to organizers’ estimates. In July, Mrs. Lam said the bill was “dead,” although opposition groups said without a formal withdrawal, the city’s legislature could quickly revive it for a reading and vote.

After local media reported the withdrawal, thousands of protesters took to the social media app Telegram to say the concession wasn’t enough and they would continue to push for all their demands.

Protesters Return to Hong Kong’s Streets

Black-clad demonstrators jammed the city a day after the chief executive delayed indefinitely an unpopular extradition bill

Former student leader Joshua Wong left prison Monday after being jailed for his role in leading the 2014 pro-democracy protests known as the Umbrella Movement.

tyrone siu/Reuters

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How effective the move will be at reducing tensions remains to be seen. Many people in the city are weary of the unrest that has closed subway stations, the city’s airport and hurt businesses. Yet anger at authorities has risen as police have been criticized for heavy handed treatment of protesters and local officials have been accused of turning deaf ears to society.

At near-daily protests in the city, demonstrators chant “five demands! Can’t even have one less!” In addition to the bill’s withdrawal and an investigation into police conduct, protesters also want a removal of a “riot” designation for a demonstration on June 12, amnesty for all who have been arrested since early June and greater democracy, a demand that analysts believe is unobtainable at this time.

Street occupations in 2014, demanding universal suffrage in the election of the city’s leader, fizzled out without any concessions from Beijing.

—Joyu Wang and Steven Russolillo contributed to this article.

Write to Natasha Khan at natasha.khan@wsj.com

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2019-09-04 08:48:00Z
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Boris Johnson pushes Britain to brink of an election: Here's what could happen next - CNBC

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is driven away from the Houses of Parliament after attending an emergency debate on a no-deal Brexit in London on September 3, 2019

OLI SCARFF | AFP | Getty Images

Market focus is firmly on U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's next move after a majority of U.K. lawmakers voted Tuesday to take control of parliamentary business.

The result sets up another key vote in parliament on Wednesday on whether to block the government from proceeding with a no-deal Brexit on October 31, if no Brexit deal is agreed by that date.

The legislation being put forward by opposition and "rebel" Conservative Party lawmakers on Wednesday would force the prime minister to request another delay to Brexit, to January 2020, in a bid to stop him from taking the U.K. out of the EU on Halloween "come what may," as he pledged.

The move by lawmakers put parliament on a collision course with Johnson's government. Johnson had hoped to keep the prospect of a no-deal scenario on the table in a bid to strengthen his hand in last-ditch negotiations with the EU to get amendments to the Brexit deal on offer.

What happens next is uncertain, with various potential scenarios including a possible snap election – the timing of which could largely determine the direction Brexit takes given the default position is that the U.K. leaves the EU on October 31 — if the government does not request a further delay — with or without a deal.

Johnson said Tuesday that he would put forward a motion to hold a snap election, although he needs two-thirds of parliament to approve a vote. A vote of no confidence in the government could also be tabled by the opposition.

After hitting a level not seen since October 2016 on Tuesday, sterling rose following the vote to trade at $1.2123 on Wednesday.

UK election ahead?

The prime minister responded to the vote Tuesday evening telling a packed House of Commons (the lower chamber of Britain's Houses of Parliament) by saying it was "on the brink of wrecking any deal that we might be able to strike with Brussels."

The dramatic day in British politics on Tuesday also saw a Conservative Party MP defect to the opposition, leaving Boris Johnson without a working majority in parliament.

Opposition lawmakers want assurances that legislation to block a no-deal Brexit, if approved on Wednesday, would be passed before any election is held. A no-deal departure is seen as the most turbulent Brexit scenario as it means an abrupt overnight separation from the EU without a transition period in place.

Legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit, even if approved by parliament on Wednesday, would need to be approved quickly by the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Britain's Houses of Parliament, before parliament is suspended on Monday 9 September until mid-October.

It has been reported that the government could try to bypass legislation requiring a two-thirds majority to approve a snap election, but this is deemed unlikely. It has even been mooted that Johnson could call a vote of no confidence in his own government and then call on his MPs to abstain from the vote although this is seen as extremely unlikely.

Andrew Adonis, a Labour Party peer in the House of Lords and a former government minister, told CNBC's "Capital Connection" he was confident the House of Lords would approve legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit.

"The House of Lords is usually very sedate because we're meant to be the reflective chamber but I can assure you, passions are running extremely high," he told CNBC's Willem Marx on Wednesday.

"The overwhelming majority do not want to see a disorderly Brexit …So the bill will go through the (House of) Lords, the question is what Boris Johnson now does," he said.

"His move to have an election is certainly going to be stopped this week. It requires the consent of two-thirds of the House of Commons and he's not going to get close to that. There will not be any consent to an election before a no-deal Brexit is dead and buried."

Adonis, a Remain supporter, added that there was "a very low level of trust in parliament at the moment with Boris Johnson … and I think we're in for a deep and ongoing political crisis."

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/boris-johnson-pushes-britain-to-brink-of-an-election-heres-what-could-happen-next.html

2019-09-04 07:10:54Z
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Boris Johnson pushes Britain to brink of an election: Here's what could happen next - CNBC

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is driven away from the Houses of Parliament after attending an emergency debate on a no-deal Brexit in London on September 3, 2019

OLI SCARFF | AFP | Getty Images

Market focus is firmly on U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's next move after a majority of U.K. lawmakers voted Tuesday to take control of parliamentary business.

The result sets up another key vote in parliament on Wednesday on whether to block the government from proceeding with a no-deal Brexit on October 31, if no Brexit deal is agreed by that date.

After hitting a level not seen since October 2016 on Tuesday, sterling rose following the vote to trade at $1.2123 on Wednesday.

UK election ahead?

The dramatic day in British politics on Tuesday also saw a Conservative Party MP defect to the opposition, leaving Boris Johnson without a working majority in parliament.

"The House of Lords is usually very sedate because we're meant to be the reflective chamber but I can assure you, passions are running extremely high," he told CNBC's Willem Marx on Wednesday.

"The overwhelming majority do not want to see a disorderly Brexit …So the bill will go through the (House of) Lords, the question is what Boris Johnson now does," he said.

Adonis, a Remain supporter, added that there was "a very low level of trust in parliament at the moment with Boris Johnson … and I think we're in for a deep and ongoing political crisis."

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/boris-johnson-pushes-britain-to-brink-of-an-election-heres-what-could-happen-next.html

2019-09-04 07:09:10Z
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