Hong Kong protesters unmoved as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says China extradition bill ‘dead’

Hong Kong's embattled pro-Beijing leader on Tuesday said a China extradition bill that sparked unprecedented political unrest "is dead" -- but protesters immediately dismissed her comments, threatening more mass rallies.

The international finance hub has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history by a month of marches and sporadic violent confrontations between police and pockets of hardcore protesters.

The rallies were sparked by a draft law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. But they have morphed into a wider movement calling for democratic reforms and a halt to sliding freedoms in the semi-autonomous territory.

On Tuesday the city's chief executive Carrie Lam admitted her administration's attempt to introduce the bill was a "complete failure", saying that her government would not seek to reactivate it in parliament.

"There is no such plan. The bill is dead," Lam said.

But she once again refused to buckle to demands to completely withdraw the bill from the legislative agenda, provoking outcry from the anti-government camp.

Lam's words about the bill are "another ridiculous lie" tweeted leading democracy activist Joshua Wong, who was recently released from jail for his role in protests in 2014.

"The bill still exists in the 'legislative programme' until July next year." The Civil Human Rights Front -- which has organised some of the mass rallies -- said it would announce fresh protests over the coming days.

With calls mounting for her resignation, Lam has made few public appearances in recent weeks.

Analyst Dixon Sing said her words would do little to defang the protest movement.

"Trust in the government has sunk to such a record level that if there's not a clear fulfillment of the (key) demands, the majority of the Hong Kong public will still be very sceptical of the government's sincerity," he told AFP.

Lam has been under pressure to appoint an independent judge as head of a public commission of inquiry into the police response to the protests.

But she rejected those calls again on Tuesday, backing an existing police complaints body to investigate claims of excessive force.

Beijing has thrown its full support behind Lam, calling on police to pursue anyone involved in the parliament storming and other clashes.

Over the weekend its ambassador to London said the extradition bill was needed to "plug loopholes", fuelling fears Beijing still wants the legislation to pass.

She also announced an independent investigative committee to look into police actions during the protests that erupted in the city over the last month, as well as the establishment of a platform for dialogue with those opposing the law, Efe news reported.

"I will publish the result of this report to let everybody know what happened over the last month, and all the people involved in activities last month - police officers or protesters - can submit materials to this independent investigate committee," she said.

The Chief Executive assumed full responsibility for the crisis but did not give in to the protesters' recent calls for her resignation. Instead, she asked for an opportunity to bring Hong Kong back to normalcy.

Lam added that it was necessary to reduce the tension, and called for the participation of the entire society to restore calm in the city.

The leader also reached out to the youth, who have played an active role in the recent protests, and announced a platform for better dialogue with students as well as improved management of the universities.

"We need to hear from the younger generations, from different backgrounds, to know what they're thinking," she said.

The Chief Executive added that she was "willing to engage in an open dialogue with students without any preconditions".

Last week, a group of Hong Kong student leaders rejected Lam's offer of a private meeting about the recent protests over the bill, which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China and other jurisdictions with which the city had no extradition agreement, calling it "too little, too late", according to the South China Morning Post.

The anti-extradition movement has united an unlikely cross-section of Hong Kong society, including major business, legal bodies as well as religious leaders, activists and journalists.

Protesters are becoming increasingly creative -- chat forums and encrypted messenger apps are buzzing with calls for the mass withdrawal of funds from the Bank of China this Saturday to "stress test" the organisation's liquidity.

The government's offer came after hundreds of mostly young protesters stormed the city's legislature on the night of July 1, writing slogans on the wall, defacing Hong Kong's official emblem and smashing equipment, furniture and work areas.

Tuesday marks exactly a month since the first mass protest against the bill brought an estimated 1 million people onto the streets on June 9, followed by about 2 million the following weekend.

The controversial bill was first proposed in February. The bill's opponents have expressed fears that this could lead Hong Kong to lose its judicial independence.

Human rights groups have claimed that the if passed, the new law would allow activists, workers in non-profits and reporters to be deported and persecuted by the Chinese authorities, without offering guarantees to safeguard their rights.

The protests are also part of a longer battle for the soul of Hong Kong between those who see full integration with the autocratic mainland as an inevitability and others wishing to preserve the city's unique freedoms and culture.

Under the 1997 handover deal with the British, China promised to allow Hong Kong to keep key liberties such as its independent judiciary and rights like freedom of speech.

But many say that 50-year deal is already being reneged on, citing the disappearance into mainland custody of dissident booksellers, the disqualification of prominent politicians and the jailing of democracy protest leaders.

Authorities have also resisted calls for the city's leader to be directly elected by the people.