HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s embattled government looks set to press pause on a deeply unpopular extradition bill that has provoked unprecedented clashes between police and protesters, multiple local media outlets reported Saturday. The city’s pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam has faced mounting calls to abandon the controversial legislation, including from her own political allies and advisers. “If the government caves in to violence and external influences, in the long run that would also make Hong Kong ungovernable,” pro-Beijing lawmaker Regina Ip told reporters. Opposition to the extradition bill has united an unusually wide cross section of Hong Kong. Protest organizers have said they will only accept a full withdrawal of the bill, not a postponement.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 15, 2019 05:48 UTC