Taiwan, US Fanning HK Protests: Tung Chee-hwa

Former Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa on Wednesday blamed “foreign forces” in Taiwan and the US for the ongoing social unrest in Hong Kong.

Giving a luncheon speech at his pro-government Our Hong Kong Foundation think tank, Tung said the protests are “obviously different” from social movements in the past.

“Looking at the political storm closely – its severity, scale, and organisation – it’s reasonable to believe that it’s fanned by someone from behind [the scenes]. Various signs are pointing at Taiwan and the US,” he said .

Tung said that since the handover, foreign politicians and anti-China forces have tried to incite Hong Kong people’s fear of the Communist Party and to turn the SAR into a base to resist the central government.

He urged Hong Kong people to be vigilant, pointing out that anti-extradition bill slogans have changed into talk about revolution and "reclaiming Hong Kong".

The former SAR leader also said "a small number of people are abusing the government's leniency, and use violent means to challenge Hong Kong’s economy and social order, and to damage the relationship between the central government and the SAR”, adding that such acts are unacceptable.

He said now that Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said that she has learned her lesson, people should have faith in the government to carry out significant reforms to restore their confidence.