Hong Kong leader says extradition bill is dead, but critics unconvinced

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to media over an extradition bill in Hong Kong, China July 9, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday the extradition bill that sparked the Chinese-ruled city's biggest crisis in decades is dead and that government work on the legislation had been a "total failure", but critics accused her of playing with words.

The bill, which would allow people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China to face trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party, sparked huge and at times violent street protests and plunged the former British colony into turmoil.