Hong Kong to suspend contentious extradition bill indefinitely

On the defensive after days of huge street protests, Hong Kong’s chief executive is preparing to indefinitely suspend her push to adopt a contentious extradition bill after consulting with her superiors in mainland China, people familiar with the discussions said.

Delaying the bill would be a remarkable reversal for the pro-Beijing chief executive, Carrie Lam, who had vowed to ensure its approval and tried to get it passed on an unusually short timetable, even as hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated against it this week. Another large protest is planned for Sunday.

City leaders hope that delaying the bill, which would allow extradition to mainland China, will cool public anger and avoid more violence in the streets, people with detailed knowledge of the government’s plans said.

Via NYT