Earlier this summer, Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam presented a report to Beijing assessing the five main requirements of demonstrators and finding that withdrawing a controversial extradition bill could help defuse the growing political crisis in the land.
The Chinese central government dismissed Lam’s suggestion to withdraw the extradition bill and instructed her not to give in to any of the other requests of the demonstrators at the moment, three people with direct understanding of the issue told journalists.
The role of China in guiding how Hong Kong handles the protests has been commonly assumed, backed by harsh statements in state media about the sovereignty of the country and the “radical” objectives of the demonstrators.
Beijing’s rejection of Lam’s proposal to settle the crisis, first described by journalists, is concrete proof of how much China is managing the reaction of the Hong Kong government to the disturbances.
The central government of China has condemned the demonstrations and accused foreign authorities of fueling turmoil. Other countries have been advised constantly by the Foreign Ministry against intervening in Hong Kong, reiterating that the scenario is an “internal affair.”
Before an Aug. 7 meeting in Shenzhen on the Hong Kong crisis led by senior Chinese officials, Lam’s report on the tumult was produced. The study examined the feasibility of the five requirements of the demonstrators and analyzed how the people with immediate understanding could quiet things down by conceding to some of them.
In addition to withdrawing the extradition bill, the other requirements analyzed in the study were: an autonomous protest investigation ; fully democratic elections ; dropping the word “riot” when describing demonstrations ; and dropping charges against those so far detained.
According to a senior public official in the Hong Kong administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the withdrawal of the bill and an autonomous investigation were seen as the most politically feasible. He said the move was intended to help pacify some of Lam’s silence’s more moderate demonstrators who were angry.
The extradition bill is one of the main problems that helped drive the protests into the streets of Hong Kong that attracted huge numbers of people. Lam said the bill was “dead,” but expressly refused to say it was “withdrawn.”
According to senior public official, Beijing informed Lam not to cancel the bill or initiate an investigation into the tumult, including accusations of excessive police force.
The second person with immediate understanding of the issue, who has close connections with senior Hong Kong officials and also declined to be identified, verified the report had been presented by the Hong Kong government.
“They said no” to all five demands, said the source. “The situation is far more complicated than most people realize.”
The third source, a senior Chinese official, said the Hong Kong government had submitted the report to the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Central Coordination Group, a high-level group led by Han Zheng, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, and President Xi Jinping was aware of it.
The official stated that Beijing had refused to give in to any of the requests of the demonstrators and wanted more action from the administration of Lam.
Lam’s office said in a declaration responding to journalists that her government had made attempts to tackle the issues of demonstrators, but did not comment directly on whether it had made such a suggestion to Beijing or received directions.
Written issues have been referred to the Chinese Foreign Ministry at the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), a high-level Chinese State Council office. HKMAO has not responded to a request for comment by fax.
The two sources in Hong Kong said the report was submitted between June 16-the day after Lam announced the suspension of the extradition bill-and Aug. 7, when nearly 500 pro-establishment figures and businesspeople from Hong Kong attended a forum at the HKMAO and China’s liaison office in Hong Kong.
The issue of Beijing’s impact is at the heart of the governance of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong, which promised the city a high degree of autonomy and wide-ranging liberties that do not exist in mainland China.
Since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, more than two months of protest have embroiled Hong Kong in its most serious crisis.
In a direct challenge to Beijing, what started as a motion to oppose the extradition bill, which would have permitted individuals to be sent to China for trial in tribunals regulated by the Communist Party, has morphed into a wider campaign for higher rights and democracy.
Ip Kwok-him, a senior pro-Beijing politician who sits on Hong Kong’s elite Executive Council, which advises senior officials, including Lam, told reporters that “if the central government won’t allow something, you can’t do it.” Ip did not know about the proposal to withdraw the bill.
A senior businessman who attended the Shenzhen meeting and has met with Lam recently said “her hands are tied” and Beijing wouldn’t let her withdraw the bill. The businessman spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
At the Shenzhen meeting, Zhang Xiaoming, the head of the HKMAO, said in televised public remarks that if the turmoil persisted, “the central government must intervene.”
Since then, there have been signs of Beijing taking a harder line.
For instance, officials have likened some protests to “terrorism,” Chinese paramilitary police have conducted drills near the border, several Hong Kong companies have been pressured to suspend staff supporting the protests, and security personnel have searched the digital devices of some travelers entering China.
On Friday, Joshua Wong, a prominent democracy activist, was arrested, according to his political party, Demosisto.