Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday, July 9, that the controversial extradition bill which sparked mass protests in the city was 'dead' as the demonstrations have been taking a different shape as pro-democracy protests now.
"The bill is dead," she said at a press conference in Hong Kong. "The recent crisis over the extradition bill is a complete failure."
She also said that the clarification was needed to erase "lingering doubts about the government's sincerity of worries (about) whether the government will restart the process with the Legislative Council," reported AFP.
Since Lam did not use the term "withdrawal" in her statement, experts and protesters have expressed their concerns about the revival of the contentious bill.
Millions have protested in the historic demonstration for the past few months to demand the withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill, that would allow the communist regime to pursue their political targets in Hong Kong.
Protesters have claimed that the bill proposed by pro-Beijing party hampers democratic freedom by allowing mainland China to prosecute their dissenters.
In June, Lam had said that the bill was 'suspended.' This failed to convince the demonstrators who continued the mass protests and demanded her resignation.
Hong Kong was a British colony and was reunified with China in 1997. The region operates under a "one country, two systems" governance structure.
