The president of Hong Kong’s legislature announced that meetings scheduled for the news two weeks will be cancelled after unruly protesters stormed the building last night, effectively starting the body’s summer recess immediately as legislators sought to shift the blame for yesterday’s chaos.
Legislative Council President Andrew Leung told reporters this morning that the facility’s power supply and fire safety system had been damaged by the anti-extradition bill protesters and would take time to repair. As no alternative venues could be arranged, business at the legislature has to be postponed, he said.
Leung went on to condemn the actions of yesterday’s protesters — who laid siege to the building for hours before forcing their way inside — and described the LegCo complex as a “big crime scene,” saying that police needed to gather evidence, Stand News reports.
“I believe many Hong Kong people would share the same feeling with me that we’re saddened by what happened last night. For the best interest of Hong Kong, I hope that all of us could find the way forward rationally.”
Pro-establishment politicians also lined up to condemn the scenes at LegCo yesterday, saying they rejected the argument that protesters were acting out of desperation, and maintaining that there was no justification for the violence.
In a livestream by broadcaster RTHK, the lawmakers were asked whether they were swayed by the argument that protesters had felt driven to violence because authorities weren’t listening to their demands.
Pro-establishment camp convenor Martin Liao, for one, was unequivocal in his rejection of the notion: “No, we have no sympathy for that sort of view.”
New People’s Party’s chair and former security secretary Regina Ip, meanwhile, called last night’s violence and the damage sustained by the LegCo building “shocking” and “unprecedented.”
“No slogan, no demand can justify such violence,” she said. “Totally unacceptable for [a] civilized society like Hong Kong.”
The lawmakers’ pro-democracy counterparts, however, argued that the government still bore at least a portion of the blame.
Claudia Mo, flanked by her pro-democracy colleagues, told reporters: “Of course we do not endorse vandalism, we don’t condone violence, but we hope everyone — not just in Hong Kong, but the whole wide world — to understand the Hong Kong young, the desperation exhibited behind the so-called violent acts. They need to understand Hong Kong.”
She also accused Chief Executive Carrie Lam of using the “very communist tactic” of trying to shift the blame to those who voiced their concerns rather than trying to solve the issue.
Fellow pro-dem lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki also weighed in on Lam’s decision to hold a press conference at 4am this morning, and criticized her decision not to meet with protesters and pro-democracy lawmakers over the extradition bill, according to Now TV.
“Nobody forget, whether it’s 1.03 million people, two million people, or 550,000 people, and even the young people last night, the demands of Hongkongers have not changed,” he said, referring to the turnouts of three recent rallies seeking the bill’s complete withdrawal, as well as an investigation into the use of police violence against protesters on June 12, the release of those arrested for rioting in relation to that protest, and Lam’s resignation.
Lawmaker Leung Yiu-chung, for his part, addressed an incident yesterday in which he was tackled to the ground after trying to stop protesters from ramming through a glass door leading into the LegCo, appearing to absolve protesters, at least in part.
Some of the more radical protesters are storming the Legco now despite pro-democracy lawmakers' effort to stop them. Legislator Leung Yiu-chung was tackled on the floor pic.twitter.com/nclAI2RqWO
— Chris Lau (@hkchrislau) July 1, 2019
He said that he repeatedly tried to tell protesters to calm down, rest, and think before taking any further action, but he was ultimately ignored.
“I told them that doing this won’t help our movement, can everyone just think it through. They asked me one question: ‘Three people have already died, how many more people have to die before we are saved? Two million people have taken to the streets, you think the government cares about us?’ I couldn’t even answer that question.”
He went on to urged Lam to come out and address protesters’ concerns, saying she has “rested long enough.”
Mo felt compelled to add to Leung’s comments, particularly regarding the deaths of three young protesters — at least two of them confirmed suicides — who have since become figureheads for their fellow extradition opponents.
Apparently sensitive to the potential for copycat incidents, Mo urged Hongkongers not to adopt a “martyr mentality.”
“We need to remind them it’s not worth it, time is always on the young’s side,” she said.
Meanwhile, the events in Hong Kong grabbed the global spotlight, with UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt expressing “unwavering” support for the city’s special freedoms, even as he condemned the use of violence. The EU also noted its disapproval of yesterday’s violence, while also calling for “dialogue and consultation to find a way forward.”
US President Donald Trump offered support for the protesters, while also taking an apparent dig at Beijing.
“Well, they’re looking for democracy and I think most people want democracy. Unfortunately, some governments don’t want democracy,” he said, adding that there was “nothing better” than democracy.
The comments were enough to draw a swift rebuke from China, which condemned what they characterized as Trump’s “gross interference” in Hong Kong’s affairs.
Political analyst Joseph Cheng said protesters’ actions were obviously meant to provoke China, but noted that the provocation could come with a backlash.
“They are gestures of defiance rather than a genuine political action,” he said, warning they would likely “be seized upon by Beijing and by the Carrie Lam administration as justification for a crackdown”.
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