Riots to push HK into ‘abyss’
▶ If situation continues, city to ‘fall from pinnacle’
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor warned Tuesday that Hong Kong has descended into a state of panic and that violence during protests would push the city into “the abyss of destruction.”
Lam made the remarks at a weekly meeting of the Executive Council, her top policy advisory body. The meeting was called two weeks ahead of the end to its summer recess.
The city has descended into panic after witnessing massive scale destruction, which has paralyzed the airport, blocked the tunnel and injured police officers, Lam said.
However, hostile words, unverified pictures and videos, and vicious attacks against the police have put them on the opposite side of the public and done no good for the city at all, Lam asserted.
A 15-minute press conference by Lam was continually interrupted by Hong Kong and Western media reporters.
Hong Kong has seen escalating violence across the city over the last week: obstruction of public transport and major roads, violent clashes with the police and unlawful protests inside the airport which forced flights to be canceled on Monday and Tuesday night.
“As the chief executive said today, Hong Kong has been seriously wounded. If the situation continues, Hong Kong will fall from the pinnacle of its prime and it will take a long time to recover its international image, Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, told the Global Times.
Chui noted that today’s violent incidents are consuming what Hong Kong has built before.
People in Hong Kong should unite to see the sun shine again, Chui believed. “Otherwise, Hong Kong will lose the achievements made by several generations,” Chui said.
According to a video clip circulating on Sina Weibo, an elderly man on the subway in Hong Kong criticized protesters standing in front of him, saying that he would beat them up if the protesters caused trouble on the train and affected others’ work.
The video in which the old man called the protesters “rubbish” and “less than beggars” attracted 400,000 views as of press time, with a large number of internet users expressing support for his hardcore attitude.
On Tuesday, a dozen Hong Kong residents gathered outside the residence of Martin Lee Chu-ming, one of the most outspoken opposition members against the now-shelved extradition bill.
The residents held banners calling Lee a “national traitor” and urged him to “get out of Hong Kong.”
Lee came under the spotlight after he was photographed meeting Julie Eadeh, political unit chief of the US consulate general in Hong Kong on August 6.
After meeting Lee, Eadeh talked with Hong Kong secessionists including Joshua Wong. Hong Kong-based newspaper Ta Kung Pao reported that Wong and Eadeh discussed issues such as banning US exports of equipment to the Hong Kong police.