HONG KONG — Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam faced calls from both outside and within her government to delay extradition legislation that has spurred massive protests. Many in Hong Kong fear the measures would undermine the former British colony’s legal autonomy. Le urged the U.S. to treat Hong Kong “objectively and fairly,” the ministry said in a statement. Pressure on the Hong Kong leader, caught between a restive public and Communist rulers in Beijing, is growing, said Willy Lam, an expert on Chinese politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The detention of several Hong Kong booksellers in late 2015 intensified concern over the territory weakening legal autonomy.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 15, 2019 01:41 UTC