For months, Chinese people have been delivered a stream of news about Hong Kong’s protesters being reckless “thugs” who have been led astray by the CIA in order to throw the city into chaos using opposition to an extradition bill as a mere pretext.
Which is why some people in China voiced confusion online after Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam announced yesterday (Sept. 4) that she will completely withdraw the bill. Lam’s move came after months of mass protests calling for the withdrawal of a piece of legislation that many in Hong Kong saw as a grave threat to the city’s autonomy enshrined as part of its 1997 return to Chinese rule, as it would have allowed people to be sent to the mainland to face trial for the first time.
