Fanny Law: CE Will Struggle To Agree Student Terms

Executive Council member Fanny Law says she believes Chief Executive Carrie Lam's office will consider two preconditions set by students for a meeting with the SAR's leader, but may struggle to agree to them.

Student union leaders from the Chinese University and the University of Science and Technology said they would not meet Lam unless she agreed to withdraw all charges against people involved in recent anti-extradition protests, and to hold the meeting in public.

"I do appeal to our young people that they should seize this opportunity to meet with the chief executive directly," Law said on Saturday. "As to the two preconditions, I'm sure the Chief Executive's Office is considering.

"On one of the conditions about not prosecuting, I'm sure even the legal sector would object, and they have already voiced their objection because Hong Kong is a place that upholds and prizes its rule of law.

"Whether it should be an open meeting, I think this is something which the Chief Executive's Office will consider."

Law said the government had already made compromises in the face of weeks of mass protests against its extradition bill, which would open the way for ad-hoc extradition arragements with any jurisdiction, including the mainland. The bill has now been suspended and Law said it would be difficult to restart work on it before it expires next year.

She added: "What more do you want?"

Law also questioned how many people took to the streets in two mass protests last month. Organisers said one million people marched on June 9 and two million took to the streets on June 16, but Law said: "How could it be possible that one in three actually came out and marched?"

She also said the forcing the resignation of a particular minister may create new problems in finding a replacement. But she said it was essential that the administration find better ways to gather the views of young people.

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