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Despite Carrie Lam withdrawing the proposed extradition bill, Beijing may be planning another crackdown
Hong Kong’s courageous demonstrators have won a significant victory – but the struggle to halt stealthy, long-term Chinese efforts to curtail legally guaranteed freedoms in Britain’s former colony is by no means over. Their protest campaign has come to symbolise the wider, global confrontation between authoritarian and democratic, law-based forms of governance – and that epic battle, too, has a long way to run. By agreeing on Wednesday to officially withdraw the proposed extradition bill that first sparked the protests in June, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, has finally done what she probably wanted to do weeks ago – but was prevented from doing by Beijing. In leaked remarks last week, Lam admitted making “unforgivable” mistakes that plunged Hong Kong into an unprecedented post-1997 crisis.
Yet it is clear that her freedom of action was severely limited. Lam would almost certainly have resigned by now, had her Communist party masters let her. But they feared that any attempt to quit would be seen around the world as a sign of their weakness and indecision – and so are insisting, for now at least, that she stay in post. But Lam’s position has been fatally weakened. If and when calm returns, Beijing is expected to replace her. Continue reading...