The Hong Kong government has withdrawn the controversial extradition bill that sparked months of protests and violence. Security secretary John Lee said on Wednesday: “I now formally announce the withdrawal of the bill.” However, he refused to take questions from pro-democracy politicians. The extradition bill allowed extraditions from Hong Kong to mainland China. Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam had proposed amendments to extradition legislation to try to resolve a case involving a man wanted for murder in self-ruled Taiwan, who could not be sent to face charges because there was no extradition agreement. But the proposals led to fears that residents would be at risk of being sent to China’s Communist Party-controlled courts. Lam was forced to back down and said last month she would drop the bill.
