Lam says she’s met protesters
HONG KONG leader Carrie Lam said yesterday that she had met with a group of young people about the pro-democracy protests gripping the city, but she showed no sign of budging in a continuing stalemate over the movement’s demands.
Lam said she explained the government’s position at the Monday meeting, which was closed-door and unannounced. She disputed complaints that her government is ignoring the protesters, whose demands include the withdrawal of an extradition bill, an independent inquiry into what they believe is excessive use of force by police at the demonstrations, and democratic elections.
“It’s not a question of not responding,” she said. “It’s a question of not accepting those demands.”
Hong Kong, a Chinese territory, has seen more than two months of youthled protests that have often ended in clashes with police. More than 80 people were arrested last weekend after protesters occupied city streets. They built barriers across the roads and threw bricks and petrol bombs to try to block the police, who used tear gas to drive them away.
Lam announced last week that she was creating a platform for dialogue.
Opposition lawmakers have questioned the sincerity of her initiative, calling it a delaying tactic.
It wasn’t clear who attended the Monday meeting with Lam and the education and home affairs ministers. The South China Morning Post, citing an unidentified source, said about 20 people took part and were mostly in their twenties and thirties.
Lam said her government had accepted the movement’s main demand by suspending the extradition bill, which would have allowed suspects to be sent to mainland China to face trial. She has declared the legislation dead, but protesters are demanding its formal withdrawal.
The proposal fuelled concern that China is chipping away at the separate legal system and rights that semi-autonomous Hong Kong has under a “one country, two systems” framework. Huge marches against the legislation have drawn more than a million people, according to organiser estimates.
Protesters have also disrupted subways and the airport, surrounded and spray-painted slogans on police stations, and broken into and vandalised the legislative chamber.
Lam said it would be unacceptable for the government to accede to demands because of such pressure.
“If violence continues, the only thing that we should do is to stamp out that violence through law enforcement actions,” she said.
She dismissed any suggestion of her resignation, saying a responsible chief executive should continue “to hold the fort and do her utmost to restore law and order in Hong Kong”.