Students Set Two Conditions For Talks With CE

Student leaders at eight tertiary institutions on Friday said that they will consider talking to Chief Executive Carrie Lam only if she offers open dialogue and promises to drop all charges against anti-extradition bill protesters.

This comes after Lam's office said on Thursday night that the CE had asked for closed-door meetings with students from two universities in a bid to reach out to youth who are at the forefront of the agitation.

The CE’s office said Lam wanted the talks to be private and with small groups from different sectors, because she wanted to have a frank exchange with those who took part in the protests.

The student union members said they are not representatives of the leaderless movement, and if Lam wants to hold talks, she has to meet various sectors that have participated in the protests.

The student unions of Chinese University and HKUST on Thursday night said they had rejected Lam’s invitations for a closed-door meeting. The students said they suspected Lam was trying to split their unity by offering talks with student leaders of just two universities.

Vincent Ng from the HKUST students union accused Lam of lacking sincerity in resolving the political crisis.

“If she can invite us for a private conversation, she can then say that I really have had some conversations and have heard the voices from the students, but I cannot disclose who they are,” he said.

“We do not want this kind of things to happen, and we believe that it’s a PR stunt,” he said.

In a tongue in cheek comment, Hong Kong University’s Jordan Pang said he hoped Lam wouldn't ask for a 4am meeting as the students have to sleep. The CE had held a briefing at 4am after some protesters stormed Legco on Monday night.

The president of Chinese University's student union, Jacky So, said Lam could have listened to the public much earlier if she wanted to.

"She actually had plenty of opportunities to communicate with the public in the whole of June, but she didn't. Then she suddenly found two student unions to have communication [with], but shows no sincerity. We think it's just a public show," So said.

He said Lam has no sincerity because the police are still trying to arrest protesters, and there's currently a form of white terror on university campuses and in secondary schools.

So noted that some schoolmasters have been told to ask students if they have been part of the protests.

He also reiterated protesters’ demand for the government to completely withdraw the extradition bill, withdraw the riot label on the June 12 protests, stop prosecuting protesters, investigate alleged police brutality and introduce genuine universal suffrage.

The representatives who met the media were from Chinese University, Hong Kong University, the University of Science and Technology, Baptist University, Polytechnic University, City University, Education University and the Academy of Performing Arts.