Carrie Lam has called a meeting of pro-Beijing politicians for later on Wednesday afternoon, at which she will describe the full withdrawal of the bill as "a gesture... to cool down the atmosphere", the South China Morning Post quoted a source as saying.

Other local media, including the HK01 news website, also reported that the bill was about to be withdrawn. The news prompted a surge in Hong Kong stocks. 

Hong Kong has been experiencing near-daily protests for the better part of 14 weeks, as anger at a proposed new bill allowing extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China spiralled into a broader movement demanding greater democratic rights.

Ms Lam has previously said the now-suspended extradition bill was "dead", and promised it would not be revived in the current legislative term. But this was not enough to placate protesters, who made the complete withdrawal of the bill a key tenet of their so-called "five demands". Other demands include an amnesty from prosecution for protesters, and the right to universal suffrage in the election of Hong Kong's leader.

It has previously been reported that Ms Lam, who was nominated as a candidate for the chief executive role by Beijing and answers to the Central People's Government, had wanted to withdraw the bill fully in order to ease tensions, but was blocked from doing so by Beijing. 

The Independent

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