Carrie Lam Should Seize This Moment: Lawmakers

Pan-democratic lawmakers on Monday called on the Carrie Lam administration to grab the moment that has emerged after peaceful mass rallies over the weekend to start reaching out to the public.

Protests in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island over the weekend – an 11th straight week of protests stemming from the contentious extradition bill – passed by relatively peacefully, without tear gas being deployed.

The pan democrats said the estimated 1.7 million people who took part in a mass rally on Sunday had shown how determined they were to see their five demands accepted by the government.

The demands include the full withdrawal of the extradition bill that was suspended in June, the setting up of an independent commission of inquiry into the recent unrest, for the label of ‘riot’ to be dropped from protest on June 12, for arrested protesters to be freed without charge, and for the implementation of universal suffrage.

“Now is the time that Carrie Lam and her administration [should] come to meet with the public in whatever way she thinks appropriate,” said Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki.

He said the government’s statement on Sunday that said protesters had seriously affected traffic and caused inconvenience to the community is total rubbish.

He said any sensible government that had seen so many people peacefully taking to the streets would grasp the chance to communicate and solve the problem as soon as possible.

Kwok said it is a critical moment in Hong Kong’s history, with US legislators scheduled to discuss a motion about continuing to treat the city as a separate customs territory from the mainland.

He said if the Chief Executive continues to turn a blind eye to the great sincerity shown by Hong Kong people on Sunday, then she will be the one who is pushing the city into an abyss.