Tight Screening At Talk Venue, Human Chain Nearby

Participants in a dialogue session with Chief Executive Carrie Lam can expect exceptionally tight security when they enter the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai on Thursday evening.

The randomly selected 150 people will have to endure security checks, which include passing through X-ray machines and metal detectors.

Authorities had already announced that items like helmets, umbrellas and gas masks – the standard gear of frontline protesters – will not be allowed in. There is a ban on any kind of bottle too.

Journalists who arrived to cover the event were also made to go through checks with their media equipment, undergoing X-ray screenings.

The roads leading to the venue had also been cleared, while government facilities in the area were closed early due to “special circumstances”.

They include the Morrison Hill Swimming Pool that is next to the stadium, as well as several health clinics and dentists run by the Department of Health.

But the measures did not deter students from schools nearby, who formed a human chain over a footbridge on Queen’s Road East – just a couple of hundred metres from the stadium.

One of the participants, a boy from Wah Yan College, told RTHK he joined because he doesn't believe the government is really listening to people.

He added that he isn't optimistic that the dialogue will yield any positive results.

“I don’t have much hope. I think we all know the press asked hundreds and hundreds of questions concerning how the government will respond and although she promised that she will “sincerely” respond to the people’s questions, I think what she will do is, she will have the same measure as responding to the press and just avoid the questions," he said.

"What people want is very clear. Two million people came out calling for the five demands, and that is what we want”, the student said.