Hong Kong leader makes one concession

Hong Kong’s chief executive announced the formal withdrawal Wednesday of the controversial extradition bill that triggered months of pro-democracy protests. In a five-minute televised address, Carrie Lam said the government is removing the bill “in order to fully allay public concerns.” She also announced other measures to address the causes of the protests that began in June.

Will this end the protests? Activists have four other demands in addition to the withdrawal of the bill, which would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China. They also want an independent investigation into police brutality, a retraction of the government’s description of the June 12 protests as “riots,” the unconditional release of arrested protesters, and direct elections. Lam said the government would not concede to the other demands.

Dig deeper: Read Erica Kwong’s timeline of the semi-autonomous territory’s unrest.