Patten Warns Of Deaths And Lam's 'crazy' Decisions

Hong Kong's last governor, Chris Patten, says he's concerned it's only a matter of time before someone is shot and killed by police during the ongoing protests, and that the Chief Executive "must be crazy" to make decisions such as banning face masks.

Speaking on Sky TV, he said: "I fear for the future, unless Carrie Lam actually intervenes and understands the importance of dialogue, understands the importance of talking to people, and understands the importance of giving them the opportunity of reviewing, through an independent commission of inquiry, how we got to this situation.

"Before long, unless we're very, very lucky, people are going to get killed, people are going to get shot. The idea that with public order policing, you send police forces out with live bullets, with live ammunition, is preposterous."

He went on to say: "And even people who are not taking part in anything violent on the whole will find good... will find reasons for saying that they understand why the violence is going ahead. I do not condone it. I do not want to see it, but for that matter I don't want to see the sort of policing that we've had from from the Hong Kong Police Force."

Patten said Lam "would have to be crazy" to make recent decisions on her own without being pressured into them. "The face masks business - absolutely madness, which people will protest against. So the way forward is to engage with the demonstrators, particularly the peaceful demonstrators."

He said it has taken a huge amount of mis-government by Hong Kong authorities and Beijing to get a formerly peaceful and united community out on the streets.