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Carrie Lam Meets With Hong Kong Residents in Bid to Quell Protests Carrie Lam Meets With Hong Kong Residents in Bid to Quell Protests
(32 minutes later)
HONG KONG — After months of criticism that she has failed to address protesters’ concerns, Hong Kong’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, on Thursday held her first community talk at a heavily guarded stadium. HONG KONG — After months of public unrest and criticism that she was ignoring the demands of protesters, Hong Kong’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, on Thursday came face to face with the fury and frustration coursing through this semiautonomous city-state during a question-and-answer session billed as a community dialogue.
Mrs. Lam said earlier that she would be prepared to listen in order to better understand the frustrations of the public and to receive “constructive suggestions.” During the meeting at a stadium ringed by hundreds of chanting protesters, Mrs. Lam, the city’s chief executive, acknowledged the widespread anger after 16 weeks of protests that have presented the government with its biggest political challenge in decades.
During the event, protesters, including students in uniforms, formed human chains in the roads leading to the stadium. About 100 people gathered outside the venue, chanting that their demands be met. “In recent days, the people have lost trust in the police and the government. This is hard to fathom but it is a reality,” she said. “In a time when trust is lacking, we need to have a dialogue with one another.”
The community talk has been held up by Mrs. Lam’s government as a crucial step in restoring trust after months of large protests and increasingly violent clashes between the police and residents. The demonstrations began in response to an extradition bill and turned into a broader movement against China’s influence over the semiautonomous territory. Many of the 70 people randomly chosen to ask questions among the 150 allowed inside were visibly emotional, and they did not mince words, at times ending their allotted three minutes by reciting a phrase often heard during raucous street protests: “five demands, not one less.”
Hong Kong is bracing for more protests and clashes in the coming week, with demonstrations likely to happen on Saturday, the fifth anniversary of the start of the 2014 Umbrella Movement; on Sunday, in a global march against totalitarianism; and on Tuesday, Oct. 1, which is China’s National Day holiday. This year it marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. They expressed anger over the detention of protesters, asked why the government had so far refused to appoint an independent panel to investigate allegations of police brutality, and one woman lobbed an insult at Mrs. Lam and demanded she resign.
[What to know about Hong Kong’s protests.][What to know about Hong Kong’s protests.]
“You may be a really smart official and I believe you are really tough but you are not fit to rule,” the woman said, drawing hearty applause from the audience.
There was widespread public cynicism surrounding the session even before Mrs. Lam stepped on to the makeshift stage at the city’s Queen Elizabeth Stadium in the Wan Chai neighborhood. Given that Mrs. Lam largely serves at the pleasure of the Chinese leadership in Beijing, experts say she will be unable to satisfy a key demand of young protesters: genuine democracy. That point was made abundantly clear on Wednesday by China’s top envoy, who told reporters that further concessions were out of the question.
Before the session began, hundreds of protesters formed a human chain outside the stadium and chanted slogans demanding that the chief executive meet their demands, among them an independent investigation into allegations of excessive force by police and amnesty for the more than 1,500 protesters who have been arrested over the past three months. Mrs. Lam has previously rejected those demands.
“This forum is just a political stunt because our demands have always been clear but she has never listened to us,” said Amanda Au, 15, who came directly from school and was wearing a crisp white school uniform and a black face mask.
In an Opinion article in The New York Times that was published on Wednesday, Mrs. Lam wrote: “It remains this government’s hope that conversation will triumph over conflict and that through its actions, calm can be restored and trust can be rebuilt within the community.
She also wrote that in an upcoming policy address she would be laying out “bold initiatives to tackle deep-seated problems, such as access to affordable housing.”
Hong Kong is bracing for more protests and clashes in the coming week, with demonstrations likely to happen on Saturday, the fifth anniversary of the start of the 2014 Umbrella Movement; on Sunday, in a global march against totalitarianism; and on Tuesday, Oct. 1, which is China’s National Day holiday. This year it marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
The government said the community talks on Thursday were designed to be open to participants with a wide variety of political views. The 150 participants invited to the 3,500-seat stadium in the Wan Chai district on Thursday were selected through a lottery from more than 20,000 people who had filled out online registration forms.The government said the community talks on Thursday were designed to be open to participants with a wide variety of political views. The 150 participants invited to the 3,500-seat stadium in the Wan Chai district on Thursday were selected through a lottery from more than 20,000 people who had filled out online registration forms.
Ballots were to be drawn among the participants to see who would have an opportunity to speak for a maximum of three minutes.Ballots were to be drawn among the participants to see who would have an opportunity to speak for a maximum of three minutes.
People were searched before entering the stadium. Protective gear commonly worn by protesters, including respirator masks and helmets, were banned. Large flags and banners, bottles and cans, umbrellas and amplifiers were also not permitted.People were searched before entering the stadium. Protective gear commonly worn by protesters, including respirator masks and helmets, were banned. Large flags and banners, bottles and cans, umbrellas and amplifiers were also not permitted.
Police officers were seen carrying shields and pepper spray into the venue hours before the event began, in preparation for expected protests outside. Most restaurants and bars in the area closed early.Police officers were seen carrying shields and pepper spray into the venue hours before the event began, in preparation for expected protests outside. Most restaurants and bars in the area closed early.
In July, Mrs. Lam had offered to speak with students in closed-door meetings, but university student unions publicly rebuffed the idea, calling for more transparency. In a closed meeting with businesspeople, Carrie Lam said she would quit if she could, according to a leaked audio recording published by Reuters. In July, Mrs. Lam had offered to speak with students in closed-door meetings, but university student unions publicly rebuffed the idea, calling for more transparency. In a closed meeting with businesspeople, Mrs. Lam said she would quit if she could, according to a leaked audio recording published by Reuters.
“It remains this government’s hope that conversation will triumph over conflict and that through its actions, calm can be restored and trust can be rebuilt within the community,” Mrs. Lam wrote in an Opinion article published Thursday in The New York Times. During the 2014 Umbrella movement, amid protests that paralyzed parts of Hong Kong’s central business district for months, Mrs. Lam, then chief secretary, met with five student leaders in a session that was broadcast live on television. Those talks, during which the protest leaders demanded that Hong Kong voters be given the right to directly elect their leaders, were largely seen as a failure. Four of the students were later arrested and three of them were sentenced to prison.
She also wrote that in an upcoming policy address she would be laying out “bold initiatives to tackle deep-seated problems, such as access to affordable housing.”