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Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, who has struggled through the crisis triggered by the extradition bill she introduced has decided to finally withdraw it. Protests have gone beyond the issue of the extradition bill as Lam herself agrees. She pointed out in her video message that the protests are about housing, land supply, income distribution, social justice, mobility, and many social, economic issues in addition to political ones. Protestors have five demands and the freeing of all those arrested is not something Lam has agreed to. Lam says some protestors violated the rule of law. Protest leaders including Joshua Wong, see the withdrawing of the extradition bill as poor timing. Hong Kong has seen 13 weeks of protests and the pictures are all over the world showing how much the issues and the the lack of responsiveness of Carrie Lam has resulted in this standoff.  Lam would like to replace the confrontations with police "with conversations." Why she took so long to meet or seek meetings and conversations is not fully understood and will be discussed for a long time. This brought China to the brink of a crisis that would have repercussions including on trade issues, when it needed to be handled in a better way. ...

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British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab tells parliament the extradition treaty with Hong Kong is suspended immediately. Earlier Canada and Australia suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong. This follows China's tough new security law to quell protests in Hong Kong. Raab told parliament "we will protect our vital interests, we will stand up for our values, and we will hold China to its international obligations."

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam describes her disappointment at the events in Hong Kong in recent weeks with huge protests against the extradition law. She feels she has been misunderstood but at the same time has not connected with ordinary people and the youth the way she felt she had connected before.

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In this interview of very personal remarks made to business groups and revealed by Reuters, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's Chief Executive, says she would be relieved greatly if she quit. She called her actions unforgivable given the mood of most of Hong Kong people today in 13th week of protests. "What I did was unforgivable," she said.  Carrie Lam had a good reputation in Hong Kong as a dedicated civil servant when she assumed the office. She had not anticipated the turn of events from the push into Hong Kong sovereignty by Beijing since the umbrella movement leading up to the extradition bill. In her words- "For a Chief Executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable. It's just unforgivable." In this rare conversation remarks, Lam comes across as someone who was caught in the middle between protestors and Beijing. "The political room for the chief executive, who unfortunately has two masters, the Central People's Government of China and the people of Hong Kong, that political room for maneuvering is very, very, very limited." What is her ideal situation. "The first thing I would do if I had a choice, is to quit, with a deep apology. I make a plea to you for forgiveness." For Hong Kong people, especially the young it was about the rule of law, for Beijing a sense of the Hong Kong region as being a part of the neighboring area of Shenzen and of China. She says she sees no intention of China to send in the People's Liberation Army from her own feeling the pulse, from her discussions. She says China is playing "a long game." There is just too much at stake for China. "They care about China's international profile. It has taken a long time to build up that sort of international profile, and having a say as a big economy, as a responsible big economy, so to forsake all those international developments is clearly not on their agenda." For her personal life this has been very difficult as she can rarely go out in the middle of these protests, not even for a haircut or shopping. Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under formula of "one country, two systems." With the Hong Kong system, rule of law, free speech guaranteed under that agreement for 50 years transition period.  ...

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has called for conversations to replace the confrontations protesters have with police. Strangely Lam has not taken the initiative to meet with protesters or legislators on the other side to calm down the protests and create confidence in her administration. The withdrawal of the extradition bill by Carrie Lam came a bit late after 13 weeks of protests to restore confidence. There are two views on the action taken by Carrie Lam in Hong Kong. One is that Beijing is taking this step so that it can show it has taken an effort to achieve a compromise, if this does not work and a crackdown happens. The other view is that Beijing is seeking a compromise so that Hong Kong does not overshadow the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China on October 1. China is also keen on making a serious effort to restart trade talks with the U.S. and not let relations with the U.S. deteriorate any further. A compromise in Hong Kong, or appearing to seek a compromise, prevents the Hong Kong situation from affecting the U.S. trade talks in any way.  ...

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Carrie Lam's withdrawal announcement for the extradition bill that sparked the protests comes after 3 months of protests in which Lam could have started conversations and dialogue with protesters. This is now not likely to end the protests as a number of issues have emerged including social, political and economic issues and police action. For China it also raises questions of relations with major trading nations such as the U.S. With the stalled talks on trade and tariffs, and a slowing economy, the last thing China needs is for this to overshadow the bigger issues of economic growth and continued development of its economic potential. Lam's withdrawal decision is received with much skepticism in Hong Kong as this report in the Guardian shows. Coming earlier it could have some meaning, there is now a wider gap in the perceptions of both sides. Beijing sees itself a s wary of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, as Mr. Xi points out, and the protestors in Hong Kong not sure of Beijing's intentions. ...

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Peggy Noonan, spokeswoman for president Reagan, writes in the WSJ during a period of increased tensions in Hong Kong, in world trade, and in Britain. She cautions that moderation is a not fully understood or appreciated virtue. Noonan reflects conservative opinion in the U.S.

She says first China pushed too far resulting in earlier Hong Kong umbrella protests followed by today's protests.

Now that Carrie Lam and Beijing have backed down and withdrawn the extradition bill, the protests having made the statement, would continuing unrest and pushing Beijing too far be in their interests. Would it be in worldwide interests if that would worsen tensions from trade frictions, reducing levels of trust. 

This also applies to Mr. Johnson and Mr. Cummings in Britain's minority government. Having lost their majority are they pushing too far asks Noonan. 

 

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What was first seen as an advantage, the lack of any leaders of the Hong Kong protests, more of a spontaneous movement, is now a liability. With the effort to shut down the Hong Kong airport public sympathy has decreased for the protests in China, especially as it hurts the tourism and retail sectors. This also happened on the popular Weibo microblogging service with support increasing for Hong Kong police handling of events at the airport.

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Hong Kong street protests take place to oppose a new law that allows extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China. Carrie Lam who heads the government in Hong Kong continues to support the legislation.

This happens as China and the U.S. are engaged in a trade war with tit for tat tariffs and the U.S. takes action to prevent flow of sensitive technology to China from American companies. The U.S. and China are increasingly at odds in trade and business policies, and the U.S. sees China as a rival to its post war position in Asia, and in technological leadership. China sees human rights in the context of its own history and struggles with colonial powers, and efforts to stall its modernization efforts in the last 3 decades.

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With Britain preoccupied with Brexit, and the U.S. in a trade dispute with China, Chancellor Merkel remains the only western leader to visit and hold extensive talks with Chinese leaders Li Keqiang and Xi Jinping. She also visits other Chinese cities such as Wuhan and gives a speech at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, in which she commented on the social credit system being implemented in China about the social creditworthiness of individuals and businesses.  Merkel sitting next to premier Li Keqiang in Beijing advocated "that conflicts be resolved without violence and that anything else would be a catastrophe." She called for a peaceful resolution of the situation in Hong Kong and for Hong Kong's rights to be "guaranteed." This is significant because the close cooperation between Germany and China is critical for China today to tackle the economic problems created by the trade disputes with the U.S.  Merkel has a close relationship with Chinese leaders and has visited China many times, giving her the confidence to talk to Chinese leaders without arousing any sensitivities about internal affairs of China. She is the only leader who can speak her mind to Chinese leaders, without offending them. When she used the word "catastrophe" she chose it carefully. It took decades for China to build the trust and relationships with Europe and the U.S. that it has.  Trading relationships matter for both China and western nations and are built on trust and good relations. With the Shenzen region growing faster than Hong Kong, and thinking like Beijing, China could tackle the situation in Hong Kong over a long period. ...

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Carrie Lam's withdrawal of the extradition bill that started the Hong Kong protests is seen as an effort to divide the protesters, separating the activists from the peaceful marchers. Police have taken strong action against activists. The withdrawal of the extradition bill has also received little attention in the Chinese state media.

Legislators who had sought meetings with Carrie Lam in the last few weeks were not given access to her. As a result Lam's decision is seen as not enough to calm protests.