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Hong Kong protests: pressure builds on Carrie Lam as public rejects apology Hong Kong protests: pressure builds on Carrie Lam as public rejects apology
(about 3 hours later)
Strikes and further protests were expected in Hong Kong on Monday after protesters rejected an apology from leader Carrie Lam following a march that saw an estimated two million people fill the streets to oppose the controversial extradition bill. Hong Kong’s political crisis has entered its second week, after protestors who had filled the city’s streets in record numbers on Sunday rejected an apology from leader Carrie Lam, and vowed to continue their fight against a controversial law she championed.
After the sweeping protest – possibly the largest in Hong Kong since it was handed back to China from Britain in 1997 – Lam apologised for the way the government had handled the draft law but she stopped short of withdrawing the bill or resigning, two key demands of demonstrators. After the sweeping protest – which organisers say attracted 2 million people, the largest in the city’s history – Lam apologised in a statement for the way the government had handled the draft extradition law.
Lam has championed the unpopular bill, which would allow citizens to be sent to mainland China for trial, but as the political crisis gripping the city entered its second week, uncertainty was mounting over her political fate. But she did not meet any of demonstrators’ key demands. They are calling for her to withdraw the extradition bill, end a crackdown on activists and hold police accountable for brutal tactics at previous protests. They also want her to resign.
For most of Monday morning a small group of protestors still blocked a key road outside government headquarters, but by midday they had retreated to a nearby park. Authorities said government offices would be closed for the day.
'They're kids, not rioters': new generation of protesters bring Hong Kong to standstill'They're kids, not rioters': new generation of protesters bring Hong Kong to standstill
“Her government cannot be an effective government, and will have much, much, much difficulties to carry on,” veteran Democratic Party legislator James To told government-funded broadcaster RTHK. “I believe the central people’s government will accept her resignation.” Strikes of students and workers also had been called by protest organisers for Monday, and although most of the city was working as usual, the opposition movement got fresh impetus with the release of prominent activist Joshua Wong, who had been jailed over his role leading pro-democracy movements in 2014.
Opposition politicians echoed calls from protesters for both Lam and the law to go. He called on Lam to resign, soon after he walked free. “She is no longer qualified to be Hong Kong’s leader,” Wong told reporters. “She must take the blame and resign, be held accountable and step down.”
“We cannot accept her apology, it doesn’t remove all our threats,” said social worker Brian Chau, who was among several hundred protesters who stayed overnight in the Admiralty district around the government headquarters and legislature. The crisis was sparked by Lam’s efforts to ram a much-criticised extradition bill through parliament. It would allow both residents and visitors to be sent to China for trial in opaque, communist controlled courts, which many in Hong Kong fear would prove a devastating blow to their economy and society.
On Monday morning, several hundred protesters refused police requests to clear the streets. A policewoman using a loudspeaker asked them to cooperate as officers lined up several rows deep and faced them. A woman in black speaking for the protesters responded with her own microphone, saying they were not blocking anyone from getting to work and would leave only after Lam came to hear them out. The city functions as a regional business and trade hub, protected from China by its judicial “firewall”. Without that protection everyone from dissidents to business tycoons could be at risk; some of the city’s wealthy have reportedly already started moving assets abroad over fears about the new law’s impact.
The demonstration on Sunday came after Lam indefinitely delayed the bill on Saturday in a dramatic climbdown. Protest organisers demanded the bill’s full withdrawal and showed their anger at the way police handled a demonstration on Wednesday, when more than 70 people were injured by rubber bullets and tear gas. Lam championed the bill and led efforts to rush it into law, and though official news outlets in China said Beijing would stand by her, her authority has been badly damaged by the fallout.
Some of Sunday’s marchers held signs saying: “Do not shoot, we are HongKongers.” “Her government cannot be an effective government, and will have much, much, much difficulties to carry on,” veteran Democratic Party legislator James To told government-funded broadcaster RTHK. “I believe the central people’s government (in China) will accept her resignation.”
Hong Kong’s most dramatic political crisis in years was set in motion a week ago, when about a million people turned out to protest against the law. Lam shrugged off the first demonstration, even though it was one of the largest the city has ever seen.
But on Wednesday, demonstrations spiralled into the worst political violence since the handover from British rule, with police firing teargas and rubber bullets and attacking protesters. Later, there were arrests of activists, including in hospital.
With Sunday’s march already scheduled, and public anger heightened by police brutality and the detentions, Lam was eventually pushed into a dramatic reversal, suspending the controversial bill, reportedly after meeting top Chinese officials.
But the climb downonly inflamed public anger. Many Hong Kongers said they were infuriated by Lam’s air of confident determination as she insisted the law was fundamentally sound, defended police violence and insisted her only mistakes were in communication.
“Suspending the law but not cancelling it is like holding a knife over someone’s head and saying, ‘I’m not going to kill you now’, but you could do it any time,” said Betty, an 18-year-old protester who just finished school. “We’re fighting for our freedom.”“Suspending the law but not cancelling it is like holding a knife over someone’s head and saying, ‘I’m not going to kill you now’, but you could do it any time,” said Betty, an 18-year-old protester who just finished school. “We’re fighting for our freedom.”
“Before this week I had never been on a protest,” said 28-year-old Lau. “But I am a teacher, and I realised if I didn’t come I wouldn’t be able to face my students. This is their future.” Like many others, she had been unnerved by the arrests of activists and did not want her full name printed.
Police, who historically give far lower estimates for political protests, said 338,000 people turned out at the demonstration’s “peak” on Sunday.Police, who historically give far lower estimates for political protests, said 338,000 people turned out at the demonstration’s “peak” on Sunday.
Organisers hoping to keep up pressure on Lam called for students and workers to strike on Monday, and for shops to stay shut. The government announced that the Legislative Council would remain closed for the day.
Hong Kong is not China yet, but that feared day is coming ever nearer | Louisa LimHong Kong is not China yet, but that feared day is coming ever nearer | Louisa Lim
Protesters will be buoyed by the release from jail on Monday of the prominent activist Joshua Wong, who was the face of the umbrella movement in 2014.
Critics say the planned extradition bill could threaten Hong Kong’s rule of law and its international reputation as a financial hub for Asia Pacific. Some Hong Kong tycoons have already started moving wealth offshore.
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said Donald Trump would raise the issue of Hong Kong human rights at a potential meeting with president Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Japan this month.The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said Donald Trump would raise the issue of Hong Kong human rights at a potential meeting with president Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Japan this month.
Chinese censors have been working hard to erase or block news of the latest series of protests – the largest since crowds demonstrated against the bloody suppression of pro-democracy activists in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in June 1989 – amid concerns that any large public rallies could inspire demonstrations on the mainland. Chinese censors have been working hard to erase or block news of the latest series of protests – the largest since crowds demonstrated against the bloody suppression of pro-democracy activists in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in June 1989.
On Monday, the state-owned China Daily, said foreign “meddling” in the affairs of Hong Kong was hypocritical and “ill-intentioned”, and that Beijing would continue to back Lam despite calls for her to resign. There has been little coverage of the demonstration in state owned media, with any reports focused on accusations of “foreign meddling”.
China’s support for Lam will “not waver, not in the face of street violence nor the ill-intentioned interventions of foreign governments,” the paper said in an editorial. State-run tabloid Global Times tabloid in an editorial warned the United States against using Hong Kong as a “bargaining chip” in trade talks. “The riots in Hong Kong will only consolidate Beijing’s tough stance against Washington,” it said.
In another editorial, the state-run tabloid Global Times tabloid warned the United States against using Hong Kong as a “bargaining chip” to force compromises in trade talks. “The riots in Hong Kong will only consolidate Beijing’s tough stance against Washington,” it said.
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