CE Must Do More To Defuse Tensions: Joseph Cheng

A leading political scholar says the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, must do more to reduce public anger over the contentious extradition legislation, which has polarised the city in recent months.

Joseph Cheng, a former professor of politics at City University, said on Sunday that Lam's apology earlier this month wasn't seen as sincere and humble.

Speaking on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong, he also called on her to withdraw the extradition bill entirely, rather than suspending it, warning that leaving the issue hanging just made things worse.

"But to defuse the crisis, significantly reduce the people's anger and restore normalcy, the Carrie Lam administration has to do more," Cheng said.

"Otherwise, every serious delay in concessions will lead to a new round of escalation of conflict, and severer demands for compromises from the opposition."

Cheng says the government should also allow an independent investigation into policing of the June 12 protests - while not focusing specifically on allegations of police violence. He says this would buy time for both sides.

Calls are mounting for an independent probe into the June 12 protests, with former Chief Secretary Anson Chan calling for one on Saturday, saying it would be vital to restoring people's trust and respect for the police.

Separately, the former Transport and Housing Secretary, Anthony Cheung, said on Saturday that the public trusts the inquiry system, which has been used for major issues such as the 2012 Lamma ferry disaster, the 2015 lead water scandal, and the recent allegations of shoddy construction work on the MTR's Shatin-to-Central link.