Hong Kong government reportedly set to suspend China extradition bill
at protesters who gathered near the local legislature where lawmakers were supposed to debate the plan with scores suffering injuries.
Lam, the territory's top official, has been defiant, vowing that the plan must proceed and condemning Wednesday's demonstrations. Hong Kong has for nearly 22 years been a semi-autonomous region of the People's Republic of China with its own legal system and currency — legacies of its time as a British colony.
While the territory was guaranteed a high degree of control over its own affairs for at least 50 years under a "one country, two systems arrangement" after Britain ceded sovereignty to China on July 1, 1997,Foreign business groups and governments have come out against the plan amid concerns that any erosion to Hong Kong's legal system could make it a less attractive place for banks and companies to operate.
It is not clear whether a delay in the plan would satisfy opponents, who have demanded it be scrapped and that Lam resign.
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