A leading member of Hong Kong's 2014 Umbrella Movement has said he will "join the fight" against the city's leader over her handling of a controversial extradition bill after being released from prison.

Joshua Wong was freed as demonstrators continued to call for the former British territory's chief executive Carrie Lam to step down, with tens of thousands of people having taken part in protests against a new law that would allow China to extradite Hong Kong residents to the mainland for political trials.

Mr Wong was mobbed by journalists as he left prison, and told the gathered reporters it was "my honour and pleasure to join this movement".

'Time for me to join this fight'

He said: "Now is the time for me to join this fight and time for us to urge Carrie Lam to withdraw the extradition law proposal. It's her responsibility to step down and she will face two million people who have already joined the fight and urge her to bear the political responsibility.

"In the future I will join the fight and I hope more people will join our protest. I hope to show my support to protesters who have joined the civil disobedience."


The 22-year-old, who served a two-month sentence for contempt related to the 2014 demonstrations, which had called for more democratic elections in Hong Kong, said Ms Lam should step down and that her apology was "not enough".

He added: "Sorry is not enough, an apology is useless - to step down is the only way out. She is not capable at all to be the leader of Hong Kong."

In an earlier statement, Ms Lam had admitted "that the deficiencies in the government's work had led to substantial controversies and disputes in society, causing disappointment and grief among the people".

She said: "The chief executive apologised to the people of Hong Kong for this and pledged to adopt a most sincere and humble attitude to accept criticisms and make improvements in serving the public."

Image: Protesters demonstrating against the extradition bill have been told it will be scrapped

Ms Lam had claimed the new law would prevent criminals using Hong Kong as a safe haven. However many people believed it would repeal legal protections and freedoms promised by the Chinese government when it took control of the territory in 1997.

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According to law, Beijing should abide by the "one country two systems" rule, which promises to respect Hong Kong's legal autonomy for 50 years.

Image: Hong Kong protesters are opposed to an extradition bill

The u-turn was seen as one of the biggest political moves in the territory's history, and led many to question Ms Lam's ability to lead Hong Kong.

Over the past week, hundreds of thousands of people have marched in Hong Kong over the bill, with many being met by potentially lethal force in police clashes.

Image: Ms Lam announced the decision to suspend the bill on Saturday

Politician Claudia Mo said: "Democrats in Hong Kong simply cannot accept this suspension decision. Because the suspension is temporary. The pain is still there."

Bonny Leung, a leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, one of the groups that has helped organise the demonstrations, said: "Hong Kong people have been lied to so many times."

Image: Thousands of people have taken part in protests in Hong Kong

Across the border in China, the communist-led government issued statements that gave their backing to Ms Lam's decision to suspend the bill.

On Saturday, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted his support of Ms Lam's decision, saying: "Well done HK Government for heeding concerns of the brave citizens who have stood up for their human rights.

"Safeguarding the rights and freedoms in the Sino-British Joint Declaration is the best future for HK and Britain stands behind this legally-binding agreement."

Image: A memorial for a man who died during a protest

Image: Mr Wong laid flowers at the memorial

Meanwhile, mourners have been laying flowers on the pavement close to where a man lost his life, after seemingly falling to his death from scaffolding on a shopping mall while he was holding a protest banner.

Emergency workers reportedly tried to cushion the man's fall, but failed to catch him.

After addressing the media, Mr Wong also laid flowers at the makeshift memorial outside the mall.