“I believe that we cannot withdraw this bill, or else society will say that this bill was groundless,” Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive , said at a news conference on Saturday.

In many ways Saturday’s announcement might be viewed as a small victory for Mrs. Lam’s opposition. A draft bill that would allow citizens and foreign residents and even visitors to be extradited to mainland China has been suspended, indefinitely. But Mrs. Lam stopped short of withdrawing the bill. If she hoped that a delay would allow people to cool off and move on, that is wishful thinking.

Protesters said they will not accept anything less than withdrawal of the bill . On Sunday, hundreds of thousands — and by some estimates, 2 million — were back in the streets; authorities were so stunned that Mrs. Lam issued an unexpected apology for her handling of this episode. For Hong Kong, this battle, more than the protests that have come before, feels like a last stand .

For 79 days in 2014, thousands of protesters set up camp in Hong Kong’s main thoroughfares. The mood of Occupy Central was often sober, but sometimes idyllic , as the mostly young activists took up space, protested, and shared their hopes for free elections. Then came the police and the arrests.