The new Legislative Council session got off to a rocky start today after pro-democracy lawmakers repeatedly disrupted the opening of Carrie Lam’s policy address this morning, forcing a hasty postponement
Security was tightened at the Legislative Council complex in Admiralty this morning ahead of the annual address, which is expected to focus on housing and land supply, and comes at time of unprecedented tensions amid months of rolling pro-democracy protests.
But within one minute of the speech starting, LegCo President Andrew Leung announced the meeting would be suspended as pro-democracy lawmakers drowned out the proceedings with shouts and chants of “Five demands, not one less” the second Lam entered the chamber.
Lawmakers held up placards featuring the slogan — and someone managed to briefly project it onto the wall behind Lam — and at least one lawmaker can be seen in the live feed wearing a mask of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Someone managed to project a giant 五大訴求 缺一不可 "Five demands, not one less" behind Carrie Lam for a few seconds https://t.co/p4yW2mn41p
— Mary Hui (@maryhui) October 16, 2019
Shortly after the meeting was suspended, lawmakers Ray Chan and Tanya Chan were escorted out of the chamber by LegCo security guards.
Not long after, Leung tried to give it another go, but with similarly disastrous results. Pro-dem lawmakers continued to disrupt the proceedings, and Leung ordered at least four more to leave the chamber, only to finally adjourn the meeting again.
As Carrie Lam left the chamber, lawmakers threw their placards at her and tried to prevent her from leaving.
“In the past four months, Hong Kong people had a very difficult time,” said Tanya Chan speaking to reporters outside the chamber. “However, our chief executive Mrs Carrie Lam refused to respond or to resolve the problems.”
She reiterated that the protesters’ five demands are “very simple: not one less,” and urged Lam to step down as chief executive, saying she
She also held up a small loudspeaker which played an audio clip of people screaming and the sound of tear gas canisters being fired, saying: “These are the voices that I believe our chief executive should hear clearly.”
Adding to that, IT sector lawmaker Charles Mok said: “We brought the voice of the people through our loudspeakers into the chamber, we don’t need the one that was supposed to be delivered by the chief executive, because she has no mandate at all.”
In the last few minutes, the authorities confirmed that the policy address will be delivered via video link at about 12:15pm.
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