Hong Kong chaos forces Lam from chamber
Heckled leader completes her address online as protest organiser is beaten by unknown assailants
HONG KONG’S embattled leader Carrie Lam abandoned a state-of-the-union style address after opposition lawmakers heckled her in chaotic scenes inside the city’s legislative chamber and assailants with hammers attacked a protest organiser.
The hammer attack on Jimmy Sham, one of the public faces of the protest movement, was reported by his Civil Human Rights Front, which has organised large demonstrations.
Mr Sham was on his way to an evening meeting in Kowloon when four or five attackers pounced, leaving him with head injuries but conscious, the group said on its Facebook page.
It suggested the assault was politically motivated, linked “to a spreading political terror in order to threaten and inhibit the legitimate exercise of natu- ral and legal rights”.
Earlier in the day, as protesters gathered near the building, Ms Lam tried twice to deliver her speech while lawmakers projected a protest slogan behind her, forcing her to leave the chamber and release her remarks in an online video.
Her speech had been billed as an attempt to win the hearts and minds of residents as pro-democracy protests disrupting the city enter a fifth month.
In an attempt to restore calm, Ms Lam pledged a range of social and economic measures, largely aimed at lowering the cost of living – particularly housing – by shortening the waiting time for public housing.
But Ms Lam’s policies – perhaps welcome to some young protesters who find it near-impossible to own a house – appear a short-term solution to a long-term political problem.
One of the protesters’ main demands is democratic reforms to allow for direct leadership elections, which would put in place a government that they argue would be more representative.
To that end, Ms Lam made clear “any acts that advocate Hong Kong’s independence and threaten the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests will not be tolerated”.
“Carrie Lam attempted to win people over by introducing these policies [but] she will not succeed. She failed to address the core issues,” said Alvin Yeung, a pro-democracy lawmaker.
As unrest continues, politicians in the UK and US have grown more vocal in calling for Beijing to seek a humane resolution, as state media videos of military build-up in neighbouring Shenzhen send an ominous signal.
On Tuesday, the US House unanimously passed four pieces of legislation taking a hard line on China, three of which were related to the protests in Hong Kong, drawing condemnation from Beijing.