Carrie Lam's Offer Of Talks Dismissed As A 'trap'

The organiser of Sunday’s peaceful mass rally has rejected Carrie Lam’s offer to set up a ‘platform for dialogue’ in response to the recent unrest, accusing the Chief Executive of being ‘up to her old tricks’ and ‘setting a trap’ for the protest movement.

The Civil Human Rights Front, which claims a turnout of more than 1.7 million people for their anti-extradition law rally in Victoria Park, said the administration must stop trying to change the subject and address head on the core demands of protesters – including a full withdrawal of the bill, a independent probe into how police have handled the protests, and amnesty for all demonstrators.

A vice-convenor for the group, Wong Yik-mo, said Lam’s promised platform for dialogue would be a waste of time and money.

“She is fully aware that there is no leader… this is a leaderless movement, so why does she still suggest such a platform?” he queried.

“Because she knows very well there’s nothing that she can do to deceive us anymore. She’s so obsessed with her old tricks. We see this platform as a trap because Carrie Lam has a very bad track record. She had made numerous promises and she’s never fulfilled any of them”, he added.

He threw Lam’s previous comments – that recent violent protests were fueled by a small minority of people who have no stake in society – back at the Chief Executive.

““Carrie Lam doesn’t see Hong Kong citizens as stakeholders in the society, so what do we expect her to talk about in a platform for dialogue, and she still refuses to answer questions by the press directly,” he said.

“We wonder what would happen when a platform is established, will she do the same? Trying to bluff and to avoid answering questions?”

Wong further accused Lam of squandering a golden opportunity to give a substantive answer to the protesters demands following the peaceful demonstrations over the weekend, and her response will only push the city into an abyss.

He said the people no longer believe Lam’s promises that she will actually listen to their opinions, and this underscores why protesters have included genuine universal suffrage as one of their five core demands.

“Hong Kong needs a mechanism that can ensure democratic election so that citizens could elect a chief executive that can represent the people and also listen to voices of the people,” he said.