HONG KONG, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Hong Kong's government Friday withdrew a controversial anti-subversion bill in the face of mass opposition.
The Voice of America reported Hong Kong's leader, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, announced the indefinite delay of the re-introduction of laws against subversion, sedition and treason.
Hong Kong is required under its mini-constitution to enact such security laws. Beijing claims the security laws are necessary to protect communist China from Hong Kong being used as a base to subvert the mainland.
The bill went through several revisions earlier this year in response to public opposition. But its final passage was derailed when a half million people demonstrated in Hong Kong's streets on July 1, calling for Tung Chee-hwa to resign over the issue.
The crisis forced the security and finance ministers to resign in an effort to restore faith in the government's responsiveness to public concerns.
