Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on Wednesday that she will formally withdraw a controversial China extradition bill which sparked for 13 weeks of mass protests that had frequently turned violent.
Lam announced the decision in a videotaped message that her office released on Wednesday. Opposition to the extradition bill had fueled three months of often violent protests in Hong Kong.
Earlier this year, after large demonstrations in the Chinese- controlled territory, Lam had suspended the contentious extradition bill in June but did not withdraw it.
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The Hong Kong chief now has formally withdrawn the proposed law. The move meets one of five demands made by the protestors.
Other demands include an independent investigation of reports that some police officers brutally attacked demonstrators. Another is for Hong Kongers to have more freedom when choosing their own leaders.
On the day Lam announced the bill’s withdrawal, Hong Kong’s leading measure of stock prices rose nearly four per cent — possibly a good sign from the business community.
For the last three months, both Lam and Beijing refused to make any concessions to the protesters beyond agreeing to suspend the bill, a move that fell far short of demands that it be permanently shelved.
The bill would have allowed extraditions to mainland China where courts are controlled by the Communist Party.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lam had rejected suggestions that China was stopping her from stepping down from her post, saying it was her choice to stay as she wanted to solve the city’s ongoing problems.
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