Would such an announcement affect tomorrow's planned rally?SCMP has learned that the Hong Kong government will hit the pause button on passing the controversial extradition bill as early as Saturday afternoon, after Beijing officials in charge of the city’s affairs held meetings in Shenzhen to map a viable way out of the impasse.
It is understood that the officials were assessing the pros and cons of pausing the legislation or going ahead rather than a total withdrawal of the bill.
Another source confirmed Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor held a late-night meeting with key government officials in the city and would hold another one on Saturday morning to go over similar options.
They revealed their stance as, throughout Friday, signs emerged from the government side that there was no consensus in the Executive Council, which advises the city’s leader, on whether to press ahead or hit the pause button the bill.
You may also like:
The timeline of events which led to the current protests
An explainer on the contraversial extradition bill
Hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers took to the streets on June 9 to protest the fugitive bill