Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s departure from office Thursday closes what’s arguably been the most difficult chapter in Hong Kong’s history since its return to Chinese rule a quarter century ago.
Lam’s five-year tenure saw more than 1 million people march against her government, and months of often violent street protests, after she tried to allow extradition to China. Beijing responded with unprecedented interventions in the former British colony’s legislative and electoral framework that crushed open dissent in the once freewheeling city.
