Hong Kong’s Lam faces barrage of anger at public meeting

HKong’s embattled leader endured a barrage of criticism at a town hall meeting yesterday night that laid bare anger coursing through the city after months of huge, frequent violent pro-democracy protests.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam faced more than two hours of grilling at a public “dialogue session,” the first time her pro-beijing administration has sat down with its critics in 16 consecutive weeks of unrest.

Millions have hit the streets while hardcore activists have clashed repeatedly with police in the biggest challenge to China’s rule since the city’s handover from Britain in 1997.

During the evening Lam dismissed accusations that the meeting was a public-relations exercise, saying she was there to listen as she admitted trust in her government had “fallen off a cliff.”

“The biggest responsibility lies with myself, I won’t shirk the responsibility,” she said.

More than 20,000 people applied to attend yesterday’s meeting, with authorities picking 150 people in a lottery.

Questions were chosen at random and, compared to the angry demonstrations on Hong Kong’s streets this summer, the atmosphere remained cordial inside the sports stadium where the gathering took place.

But thousands massed outside the venue to chant slogans.

After the gathering ended, riot police formed lines in a street nearby as smaller crowds of masked protesters stayed behind and it was unclear if Lam’s motorcade was able to leave the complex.

Lam received little sympathy from audience members who rounded on her with speech after speech highlighting a litany of complaints towards her administration.

Most called on her to launch an independent commission of inquiry into allegations of police brutality and how the protests have been handled.

“The police have become a political tool of the government and right now there is no way to check police abuses of power,” one woman said, hiding her face with a surgical mask.

“Everyone has lost confidence in the police,” another female audience member said. Another said police had been left to deal with an issue that can only be solved politically.”