Extradition bill is dead, says Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday said that the contested extradition bill is "dead" after a series of protests against the document gripped the region recently.

The bill would allow China to extradite people from Hong Kong to face trial, which was not acceptable to the people of the Chinese special administrative region.

"There are still lingering doubts about the government's sincerity or worries (about) whether the government will restart the process with the Legislative Council...So I reiterate here, there is no such plan. The bill is dead," Al Jazeera quoted the Beijing-backed leader as telling journalists.

She also added that her government's work on the document had been a "total failure".

Wide protests against the bill plunged the former British colony into one of its biggest political crises in decades. Even though the demonstrations turned violent at times, the protests continued without fail.

The region has been under Chinese rule since 1997 under a 'one country, two systems' setting.