Hong Kong concession too little too late?; Revised Party accountability regulations

Carrie Lam announced that the Hong Kong government is conceding one of the five demands from the protestors, probably far too late. She said in a recorded statement that she will set in motion the process to formally withdraw the extradition bill, the issue that sparked the current wave of protests. It looks like it will not be enough to end the demonstrations.

It is hard to imagine she made this decision without approval from Beijing. Is this move to formally withdraw the extradition bill some sort of 离间计 stratagem of sowing discord to split the smaller, "radical" core from the masses, while at the same time signaling a more severe crackdown if the violence and chaos continue, and thinking it gives the authorities a more justifiable pretext if they do crackdown harder if Hong Kong citizens keep protesting?

The Xinhua commentary that came out a couple of hours ago certainly does not sound like further concessions are coming, especially when it comes to the “small number of people opposi…