Beijing ordered Hong Kong not to yield to protesters’ demands
Earlier this summer, Hong Kong’s chief executive presented a report on protesters’ demands to Beijing. These include the withdrawal of the extradition bill and an investigation into the violence. The Chinese government has condemned the protests and accused foreign powers of fuelling the unrest.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – China’s central government weeks ago rejected Carrie Lam's proposal to withdraw the extradition bill and ordered her not to give in to any requests made by protesters, this according to Reuters, citing three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Earlier this summer, Hong Kong’s chief executive submitted a report to Beijing that assessed protesters’ five key demands and found that withdrawing a contentious extradition bill could help defuse the mounting political crisis in the territory.
According to analysts, Beijing's rejection of Ms Lam's proposal on how to resolve the crisis is concrete proof of how China controls the Hong Kong government's response to the unrest.
State media have repeatedly reported stern statements about the country’s sovereignty and protesters’ "radical" objectives. The central government has condemned the protests and accused foreign powers of fuelling the troubles.
The Foreign Ministry has repeatedly warned other nations against interfering in Hong Kong, reiterating that the situation was an "internal affair".
Carrie Lam completed her report before 7 August, when senior Chinese officials met in Shenzhen to discuss the situation in the former British colony and see if some concessions could be made to the protesters’ demands in order to reduce tensions.
In addition to the withdrawal of the extradition bill, the other demands analysed in the report were: an independent inquiry into the protests, fully democratic elections, dropping of the term “riot” in describing protests, and dropping charges against those arrested up to that time.
A senior Hong Kong government official told Reuters under anonymity that Beijing ordered Lam not to withdraw the order or launch an investigation into the unrest, including allegations of police abuse.
“They said no” to all five demands, said another source. “The situation is far more complicated than most people realise.”
The two Hong Kong sources said the report was submitted between 16 June, the day after Lam announced the suspension of the extradition bill, and 7 August.
A third source, a senior Chinese official, said that the Hong Kong government had submitted the report to the Central Co-ordination Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, a high-level group led by Politburo Standing Committee member Han Zheng, and that President Xi Jinping was aware of it.
The official confirmed that Beijing had rejected giving in to any of the protesters’ demands and wanted Lam’s administration to take more initiative.
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