HK chief warns of radicalism's danger

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor appealed to social organizations to avoid advocating radicalism, as it will only harm society, especially youths.

Lam spoke before the weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, one day before the Legislative Council is to resume the second reading of the government's proposed bill amending the special administrative region's extradition law.

Local groups opposing the amendments have organized online campaigns calling for sectors including teachers, students and businessmen to launch a citywide strike on Wednesday. The proposal is supported by over 70 local educational institutions and associations.

One local group vowed to mobilize protestors and block entrances to the Legislative Council Complex in Admiralty. Some senior officials, including Lam and Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, received death threats on Tuesday demanding they withdraw the bill in 24 hours.

Lam stressed that advocating radical acts will not benefit society. Such conduct, which may involve illegal acts, will incur consequences, especially for youths, she said.

After the mass public procession on Sunday against the proposed amendments, a handful of protestors clashed with police, injuring eight officers.

Expressing worries over the clashes, Lam stressed that no civilized society wants youths to take radical actions. She pledged that the government would spare no effort in explaining the amendments to address concerns and anxiety over the revision.

The government proposed to revise the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance in Hong Kong to enable the city to surrender fugitive offenders to jurisdictions with no long-term agreements with the SAR. Hong Kong has such agreements with 20 jurisdictions and mutual legal assistance arrangements with 32 others, not including the Chinese mainland, Macao and Taiwan.

On Tuesday, Undersecretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin expressed opposition to the strike, calling on educators to prioritize teaching and students to express views in safe and legal ways.

Previously, the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools expressed disapproval of using strikes to express views.

Also Tuesday, four business organizations in Hong Kong issued a joint statement affirming their support for the SAR's extradition bill, which they said can remedy legal deficiencies.