Carrie Lam announced on Wednesday that she will permanently shelve the extradition bill that lit the fuse for three months of protests which have plunged the city into crisis.
“The government will formally withdraw the bill in order to fully allay public concerns,” chief executive said in a video statement released via her office.
Withdrawing the bill is one of the five key demands of protesters, who have taken to the streets in their millions in the biggest challenge to China’s rule of Hong Kong since its handover from the British in 1997.
Initial reports in the local media raised hopes that giving in to the extradition demand could help end the crisis.
Hong Kong’s stock market climbed nearly four per cent in afternoon trade after the reports emerged.
But those hopes were quickly tempered, with activists voicing anger and determination to press on with their broader democracy campaign.
“Too little, too late,” said Joshua Wong, a prominent activist who was arrested late last week as part of a police swoop of leading pro-democracy figures.
“We urge the world too to [be] alert to this tactic and not be deceived by Hong Kong and Beijing Government. They have conceded nothing in fact, and a full-scale clampdown is on the way.”
The protests began as opposition to efforts by Lam’s government to introduce the legislation that would have allowed, through court decision, criminal suspects to be extradited to China.
After millions of people took to the streets, Lam suspended efforts to have the legislation passed but infuriated protesters by repeatedly refusing to formally withdraw it.
The movement also evolved into a much broader campaign to include demands for an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality against the protesters, and an amnesty for those arrested.
Another demand is for Hong Kongers to be able to directly elect their leaders – a major red line for Beijing that allows the city autonomy under a “one country, two systems” framework.
Online message forums used by the largely leaderless democracy movement were on Wednesday filled with angry comments saying withdrawal of the bill would not end the protests.
“More than 1,000 people have been arrested, countless injured,” one widely shared message on the Telegram messaging app read.
“Five major demands, not one less. Liberate HK, revolution now,” it added.
For much of the last three months, Lam has struck a defiant tone, appearing either unwilling or unable to make any concessions to the protestors.