Lam undermined by China after her warning to police
Beijing has contradicted Carrie Lam, its embattled Hong Kong chief executive, over ‘‘unwavering support’’ for the territory’s police, fuelling speculation that she will be replaced.
the ruling party’s main newspaper, wrote that the 30,000 police in Hong Kong would continue to enjoy the full support of Beijing, days after Ms Lam said that she would not ‘‘blindly support’’ officers accused of brutality against demonstrators.
Lam has promised a ‘‘sufficient response’’ to demands for an investigation into police tactics against the demonstrations that have rocked the former British colony for five months.
The paper urged Hong Kong people not to turn against the police force, once considered Asia’s finest, as protests reach new levels of violence.
‘‘Shall Hong Kong residents fall into such a trap, they would be led on to the evil road by the opposition forces to mess up Hong Kong and they would destroy the cornerstone of Hong Kong’s safety, stability and harmony,’’ an editorial said. ‘‘Hong Kong has reached its grimmest moment. The party’s central committee unwaveringly support the Hong Kong police to strictly enforce the law, to tame violence and end chaos and restore order.’’
Since the protests began over an extradition bill that has been scrapped, police have arrested more than 2500 protesters and fired almost 5000 rounds of tear gas. Activists have raised concerns that police have abused their powers, while demonstrators say they have no trust in the force.
Protest leaders want an independent commission to investigate allegations of police brutality. They have also called for the Hong Kong force to be disbanded after an officer fired a live round this month, severely injuring an 18-year-old protester.
Lam, 62, has agreed only to strengthen an internal police watchdog and urged people to wait for the Independent Police Complaints Council to finish its job by the end of this year.
Lam said that the government would not tolerate violence, including that from the police. She said: ‘‘The government condemns any violent act, regardless who is the perpetrator and what that person’s political stance is.’’
She said there were limits to what she would tolerate from police. ‘‘I support the police as an institution but that does not equal blindly supporting every act by every police officer,’’ she said.
That drew a rebuke from proBeijing
‘‘Hong Kong has reached its grimmest moment. The party’s central committee unwaveringly support the Hong Kong police to strictly enforce the law, to tame violence and end chaos and restore order.’’
The People’s Daily
residents of Hong Kong. Qu Yingyan, a local columnist, wrote: ‘‘No matter how ridiculous your decisions have been, no matter how you’ve flip-flopped, the police have stood in front of you with shields, protecting you from stones and, most recently, petrol bombs. They’ve been supporting you blindly.’’
The rift became apparent as speculation began to build that Beijing would replace Lam, possibly as early as March.
Joshua Wong, a Hong Kong activist, said that replacing Lam, whose term expires in 2022, would not address the root problem. ‘‘Fury is not only driven by Carrie’s poor handling of the crisis but also the current political system that tolerates police brutality, condones corruption and has zero accountability to the public,’’ he said. ‘‘Unlike other democratic countries, the replacement of Carrie Lam with just another Beijing handpicked chief executive is not a responsive move but an act of cowardice.
‘‘Democracy is the only way out. Therefore, I urge the Beijing government to answer our call for democracy.’’