Legco Protesters Greet CE Speech With Jeers

Extradition bill protesters gathered in the Legislative Council demonstration area on Tuesday greeted a Carrie Lam speech with boos, saying the apology offered by the Chief Executive was insincere, and she had failed to address any of their demands.

While the demonstrators said they were very unhappy with Lam's refusal to step down, they were also furious that she failed to officially retract the contentious extradition bill.

The protesters said they have lost all trust in the Hong Kong leader, and again called for the release of five protesters accused of rioting during last Wednesday’s clashes with the police.

They said they will continue their sit-in until Lam addresses their demands.

In Legco, reaction to the Chief Executive's comments fell along party lines.

The pan-democratic camp was far from happy with what she had to say, insisting Lam failed to meet their demands.

Its convenor, Claudia Mo, said: "She managed to lose her smug and arrogant face today, but then her supposedly genuine apology comes too little, too late."

Across the political divide, the chairwoman of the pro-establishment DAB, Starry Lee, said she accepts Lam's apology.

"We believe that most of the Hong Kong people do not want this thing to drag on because it is not good for Hong Kong society as a whole," Lee said.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, which has successfully lobbied for changes to the bill such as the exemption of most white-collar crimes, said it hopes the city can now put behind the controversy and “move on positively”.

In a statement, the chamber’s chairman, Aron Harilela, said he hopes the CE’s formal apology “will draw a line under this unfortunate episode, and that life in Hong Kong returns to normal as soon as possible".

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