Who's the woman behind Hong Kong firestorm?
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam officially withdrew the proposed extradition bill on Wednesday that set off the more than 13 weeks of protests around the city.
The bill would have allowed for Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to mainland China jurisdictions with which the city lacked a treaty, including the mainland China, Macau and Taiwan.
Lam's decsion comes after a recording surfaced Tuesday in which she blamed herself for the region’s political turmoil.
“The choice of not resigning is my own choice,” Lam said, adding that she wants to “help Hong Kong in a very difficult situation and to serve the people of Hong Kong.”
The comments come after Lam was recorded in a private meeting saying she would quit if she had a choice.
So who is Lam?
Lam, who has spent her entire career in civil service, became Hong Kong’s fourth chief executive in July 2017 after being elected by a committee of 1,200 people made up of the city’s legislature, business groups, celebrities, professional unions, professors and more. The committee is similar to the Electoral College used for U.S. elections as Hong Kong has 3.8 million registered voters.
Lam’s election was the first following the 2014 Umbrella Movement, which began after Hongkongers said Beijing reneged on its promise to allow open elections by 2017. All of the candidates in the chief executive election are handpicked by Beijing.
Going into the election, Lam was the candidate who was most aligned with Beijing. She promised to focus on the economy and revamping government agencies, but ignored key issues like national security legislation and political reform, according to The Guardian.
Despite Lam’s doubts, it seems like she’s going to be the face of Hong Kong’s government for the foreseeable future.
“My sources inside Hong Kong told me that she offered her resignation weeks ago and the Communist Chinese Party running China rejected that proposal," Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane told FOX Business' “Mornings with Maria."
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“They wanted her out in front as opposed to putting somebody else in charge. All that said ... the CCP has been in charge day in and day out in Hong Kong now for some time.”