Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor meets the press at Chief Executive's Office in Tamar Park, Sept 5, 2019. (ROY LIU / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG —A newly announced series of measures by the Hong Kong government, including the withdrawal of the extradition bill, aim to lay the groundwork for a widely engaged dialogue in society to help the city move on from its recent turbulence, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Thursday.
The government’s four-part initiative, announced on Wednesday, came after Lam’s meeting with different groups to seek advice on the establishment of such a dialogue.
The withdrawal of the bill to fully allay public concerns is one of those important bases for a dialogue.
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief executive, Hong Kong
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Speaking a day after announcing the four steps to take the city forward, Lam said one pertinent piece of advice that she got from that meeting was that the government needs “to take the initiative to provide a basis for the dialogue”.
“The withdrawal of the bill to fully allay public concerns is one of those important bases for a dialogue,” she said.
A key demand of the protesters was the withdrawal of the extradition bill, the introduction of which sparked mass protests since June 9 and plunged the Asian business hub into its biggest political crisis in decades.
The protesters’ other four demands —including amnesty for all those arrested in relation to the protests —run counter to the Basic Law and the rule of law, Lamsaid.
The bill withdrawal will be tendered by the government when the Legislative Council resumes, with no voting and debate needed for the process.
The decision is one by the Hong Kong government, she said, adding that Beijing understands and supports her decision.
Lam said that she hopes the four actions she mentioned will be looked at “in context”. “Taken together”, she hopes they will form a basis for dialogue in the community, she added.
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Another action the government is taking to break the impasse include the appointment of two new members of the Independent Police Complaints Council, a long-established watchdog for the city’s police force, and commissioned by the government to conduct an independent fact-finding probe into the turmoil. The new members are Barrister Paul Lam Ting-kwok, former chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association; and Helen Yu Lai Ching-ping, a senior civil servant who has served in various public offices.
In addition, Lam will go into the community with her governing team to directly and openly talk to the people. The fourth step is that community leaders, professionals and academics will beinvited to independently examine and review society’s deep-seated problems and make suggestions to the government on possible solutions.
Lam's decision to withdraw the extradition bill shows her administration’s sincere desire to listen to the people and mend the social rift that has been drowning Hong Kong in a violent vortex all summer, political heavyweights said on Wednesday.
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