HONG KONG — After 13 weeks of protest and political crisis, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam finally uttered the word protesters had been demanding all summer: “Withdraw.”
In a surprise turnaround from previous statements, Lam announced a formal withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill that sparked massive demonstrations. She made the announcement in a pre-recorded television broadcast just before 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“The government will fully withdraw the bill in order to fully allay public concerns,” she said.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday withdrew an extradition bill that triggered months of often violent protests so the Chinese-ruled city can move forward from a “highly vulnerable and dangerous” place and find solutions.

Her televised announcement came after Reuters reports on Friday and Monday revealing that Beijing had thwarted an earlier proposal from Lam to withdraw the bill and that she had said privately that she would resign if she could, according to an audio recording obtained by Reuters.

Hong Kong (CNN)Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam has finally fully withdrawn a controversial bill that allowed extradition to mainland China and sparked three months of dramatic protests in the financial hub.

The decision to cave in to one of protesters' five core demands marked a dramatic U-turn for Lam, who for months has refused to withdraw the bill.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Earlier this summer, Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, submitted a report to Beijing that assessed protesters’ five key demands and found that withdrawing a contentious extradition bill could help defuse the mounting political crisis in the territory.

The Chinese central government rejected Lam’s proposal to withdraw the extradition bill and ordered her not to yield to any of the protesters’ other demands at that time, three individuals with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.