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Carrie Lam Meets With Hong Kong Residents in Bid to Quell Protests Carrie Lam Comes Face to Face With Angry Hong Kong Residents at Town Hall
(30 minutes later)
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. HONG KONG — After months of public unrest and criticism that she was ignoring the demands of protesters, Hong Kong’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, came face to face on Thursday with the fury and frustration coursing through the city during a question-and-answer session billed as a community dialogue.
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. Inside a stadium ringed by hundreds of chanting protesters, Mrs. Lam, the Hong Kong chief executive, acknowledged the widespread anger after 16 weeks of protests that have presented the government with its biggest political challenge in decades.
“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.”“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.”
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.” Many of the 70 people randomly chosen to ask questions among the 150 allowed inside were visibly emotional, and they did not mince words, harshly criticizing Mrs. Lam and at times ending their allotted three minutes by reciting a phrase often heard during raucous street protests: “Five demands, not one less.”
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.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. “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 a Chinese envoy, who told reporters that further concessions were out of the question. There was widespread public cynicism surrounding the session even before Mrs. Lam stepped onstage at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in the Wan Chai neighborhood. Given that Mrs. Lam largely serves at the pleasure of the Chinese leadership in Beijing, she will most likely be unable to satisfy a primary demand of young protesters: genuine democracy. That point was made abundantly clear on Wednesday by a top Chinese official at the Foreign Ministry’s Hong Kong office, 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. Midway through the session on Thursday, one speaker sought to highlight the elephant in the room. “We all know you are not in charge,” he said, “so there’s not much to say, really.”
“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. Mrs. Lam announced one notable concession, saying the police would no longer send protesters to the widely despised San Uk Ling detention center after a public outcry over allegations of abuse there.
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. Outside the stadium, hundreds of protesters formed a human chain and chanted slogans asking that Mrs. Lam meet their demands, including an independent investigation into allegations of police abuse 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.
After the event ended, protesters massed near the entrances of the stadium, calling on one another to block the road so that Mrs. Lam’s car could not leave. Police officers with batons and shields stood in a row inside the stadium as chants grew more raucous outside.
In an Op-Ed for 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.”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. 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, a national holiday that this year commemorates 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, though most of the speakers were critical of Mrs. Lam’s response to the unrest. The 150 participants invited to the stadium on Thursday were selected through a lottery from more than 20,000 people who had registered online.
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, was banned, but a number of speakers wore face masks in a gesture of defiance. Mrs. Lam, a soft-spoken bureaucrat, listened patiently for more than two hours and repeatedly appealed for understanding. “Don’t say I can’t hear your voices,” she said plaintively. “I hear your voices.”
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. In July, Mrs. Lam 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 business leaders, Mrs. Lam said she would quit if she could, according to a leaked audio recording published by Reuters.
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. 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 those students were later arrested, and three sentenced to prison.
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.
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.