Hong Kong’s beleaguered Chief Executive Carrie Lam again refused to give an inch on pro-democracy protesters’ demands today, appearing to dismiss them out of hand even as she repeated her calls for “dialogue” to end the city’s months-long political crisis.
Speaking ahead of her weekly Executive Council meeting this morning, Lam largely repeated much of what she has said in previous appearances, reiterating that her administration has zero tolerance for violence — repeating her mantra that “violence begets more violence” — insisting yet again that the controversial extradition bill that kicked off the protests has been stopped, and maintaining that the Independent Police Complaints Commission is more than capable of looking into allegations of police brutality.
In a question and answer session, Lam defended stepped-up police action in response to protests — including the recent deployment of high-pressure water cannons — and challenged the notion that it was counterproductive to her simultaneous calls for dialogue.
“Starting a dialogue doesn’t mean that we will condone violence… Yes, we have to say no to violence, we want to put an end to the chaotic situation in HK through law enforcement…[but we] will not give up on building a platform for dialogue,” she said, going on to address long-standing criticism that she has refused to substantively respond to protesters’ demands.
“In the last two months or so, the government has repeatedly given a reply to the demands from different people, so it is not a question of not responding, it is a question of not accepting those demands,” she said, while simultaneously claiming to have already satisfied one key demand: the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill.
Hong Kong’s summer of protests initially began as a call to action against the controversial bill, which would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to the mainland for trial. While the government announced a “pause” in the work on the bill, and Lam has since reiterated that the legislation is “dead,” she has flatly refused to formally withdraw it, or to explain why she is unwilling to do so.
As protests wore on, the list of demands grew to include amnesty for arrested protesters, an independent inquiry into the use of police force against protesters, and broader democratic reforms, including the right to directly elect the chief executive.
The press conference comes a day after a meeting between Lam and up to 20 mostly young, pro-democracy-leaning people who work in youth development to hear their thoughts on the situation, the SCMP reports.
The newspaper reported that some attendees suggested Lam focus on fully withdrawing the bill and establishing the independent inquiry rather than tackling all five demands at once — a suggestion echoed by some in her own camp. But in spite of her much-vaunted commitment to dialogue, Lam reportedly declined to entertain the suggestion, telling attendees that it was difficult to completely withdraw the bill — again without explaining why — and maintained that police were under great pressure, and the government had to take pains to make sure their performance was not affected.
During today’s press briefing, Lam denied suggestions that the decision not to set up the independent probe was because of resistance from the city’s police force, and maintained that the government’s stance has been that such a probe is not needed.
Lam repeated that the government was seeking to resolve the conflict through dialogue, and that the police must continue to maintain law and order.
“You would just imagine if under the pretext of communication or starting a dialogue that we’re not going to enforce the laws in Hong Kong and tolerate all forms of violence and disruptions; that will be the end of the rule of law in Hong Kong,” she said.
With Hong Kong’s pupils due to go back to school in the next few days — and a city-wide school boycott expected to take place on Sept. 2 — Lam deviated from her usual script to take aim at protesters who have targeted the families of police officers, and urged the education sector to protect the children of officers from being bullied.
“I just cannot see the association between the protests and the demands with the harassment of police families. Repeatedly going to the police quarters to do all sorts of threats and intimidation of police families, especially the young children,” she said.
Recent protests have seen demonstrators gather outside of police quarters where officers’ families live, and in July, eight people were arrested for allegedly doxxing police officers spotted on the front lines of protests. On Sunday, however, hundreds of people who identified themselves as family members and supporters of police gathered to back protesters’ demands for an independent inquiry, and to call on Lam to take responsibility for the political crisis.
