CE Continuing To Push HK To The Brink: Opposition

Pan-democratic camp on Tuesday accused the Chief Executive Carrie Lam of continuing to push Hong Kong into an abyss, by not responding positively to the five demands of protesters following a weekend of peaceful protests.

Earlier in the day, Lam had acknowledged the peaceful mass rally but rejected key demands of the protesters – the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill and an independent investigation into how police have handled the unrest.

The CE instead said her administration will start exploring ways to start a dialogue with various sections of society to solve the impasse that has gripped Hong Kong for over two months.

Opposition lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki said the city needs practical solutions rather than just talk.

He said there's already a broad public consensus backing the two key demands of protesters – an independent probe and bill's withdrawal – noting that even prominent members of society such as the former Chief Justice and the current chairman of the IPCC have advocated this.

Kwok said he hopes that the government would respond immediately and not delay its response any longer.

Another opposition lawmaker, Fernando Cheung, questioned if Lam wanted to put the city in further turmoil. He also warned that if she does not respond, it would raise more questions over whether rational and peaceful protests are still fruitful.

Legislator Leung Yiu-chung, meanwhile, accused Lam of being "blind and deaf" to the protesters' demands over the past two months. He also an IPCC probe is not going to work as the demand is for an independent inquiry which investigates the whole saga, including whether government officials had committed any wrongdoing.

At the same time, a pro-democracy think tank, the Professional Commons, has proposed drafting a new law to set up an independent probe into the protests.

The group said it's drafting a bill that would exempt people testifying before such a probe of any criminal or civil liability based on their evidence.

Accounting sector lawmaker Kenneth Leung, who is member of the group, said such a step could allow those hesitant of supporting a probe to think again.

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