Beijing ready to remove Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam

Beijing is said to be drawing up a plan to remove Hong Kong’s beleaguered Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Picture: Getty Images

Beijing is said to be drawing up a plan to remove Hong Kong’s beleaguered Chief Executive Carrie Lam after nearly five months of pro-democracy unrest.

The pro-Beijing leader has faced sustained criticism from protesters in the semi-autonomous city. So far, the Chinese central government has given its support to her and the Hong Kong police, calling the demonstrators “rioters” and condemning the violence.

But according to a Financial Times report, which quoted sources briefed on the deliberations, Beijing is drawing up a plan to replace­ her with an interim chief executive. However, sources told the newspaper that the plan would be dependent on the situation in the city first stabilising so that Beijing was not seen as giving­ in to violence. Ms Lam’s offic­e would not comment.

Hong Kong has been battered by 20 weeks of protests. With no political solution in sight, clashes have intensified each month.

Earlier this month, Ms Lam — who has refused to grant any major concessions to protesters — invoked a colonial-era emerg­ency law to ban face masks, setting­ off a new wave of protests and vandalism that shut down much of the city’s transport network­.

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If China’s President Xi Jinping decides to go ahead with the plan to ­remove Ms Lam, it was report­ed, her replacement would be ­installed by March.

Leading candidates being considered to replace her reportedly include Norman Chan, former­ head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Henry Tang, who has also served as the territory’s financial secretary and chief secretary for administration. Mr Tang said in a statement that he supported Ms Lam, and would not comment on specul­ation.

The reports emerged as Hong Kong authorities were said to be ready to formally withdraw the extradition bill that sparked months of protests that have since morphed into a campaign for greater democratic change.

It came on the same day that the murder suspect linked to the introduc­tion of the bill was releas­ed from prison.

Hong Kong has no extradition agreement with China and Taiwan, which is where Chan Tong-kai is wanted over the killing­ of his pregnant girlfriend, Poon Hiu-wing.

In order to allow Tong-kai to be sent from Hong Kong to Taiwan­, Hong Kong officials proposed the bill in June. Tong-kai had been serving a separate sentence in Hong Kong for money laundering, until his release on Wednesday. He vowed to return to Taiwan and turn himself in.

AFP, AP