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HONG KONG’S EMBATTLED leader Carrie Lam refused to offer concessions to anti-government protesters despite a local election setback, saying she would instead accelerate dialogues and identify ways to address societal grievances.
Lam said the central government in Beijing didn’t blame her for the election outcome.
Nearly three million voters cast their ballot in a record turnout that gave the pro-democracy bloc a landslide victory, with 90% of seats and control of 17 out of 18 district councils.
While a relatively low-key election on face value, the poll was viewed as a barometer for public support for more than five months of pro-democracy protests.
Lam said Sunday’s election may have reflected unhappiness with the government handling of the unrest but that it also showed many people wanted a stop to violence.
In early September, when she withdrew an extradition bill that sparked the unrest, Lam said she had also given a detailed response to protesters’ other demands including free elections for the city’s leader and legislature, as well as a probe into alleged police brutality.
She said the government hoped to take advantage of the current lull in violence to implement measures listed including accelerating public dialogue and setting up an independent review committee to identify deep-seated societal issues to find a way out.
“The next step to go forward is really … to engage the people. And we have started public dialogue with the community,” she said.
“But unfortunately, with the unstable environment and a chaotic situation, I could not do more on that sort of engagement. I hope that the environment will allow me to do it now.”
Meanwhile, Chinese State media has sought to downplay and discredit the results of the election.
The election winners were not mentioned in Chinese-language state media today, including official broadcaster CCTV and Communist Party publication the People’s Daily.
The People’s Daily said “social unrest… has seriously disrupted the electoral process.”
An editorial in the English-language version of China Daily said the poll was “skewed by intimidation” and “dirty tricks”.
The editorial said “violent intimidation tactics were intended to reduce the exposure and visibility of pro-establishment candidates”.
“External forces that have helped stoke the months-long anti-government campaign in the special administrative region also contributed greatly to damaging the election chances of pro-establishment candidates,” it said.
A commentary in English on official news agency Xinhua said that the election “fell victim” to “rioters”.
“Campaigns of some patriotic candidates were seriously disrupted, and their offices were trashed and set ablaze,” it said today.
“One candidate was injured in an attack. Harassment on patriotic candidates occurred on the voting day.”
The commentary went on to give its support to city leader Carrie Lam, and said the “Hong Kong community should also correctly understand the relationship between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland”.
With reporting from AFP
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I wonder how many people in Ireland actually hold bit coins in any useful amounts that require safe storage?
Are you joking? That’s a very silly comment. Do a bit if googling before you make daft comments, dafty.
If you know why don’t you answer the question rather then trying to be smart.
Explain it then Bee Shop and don’t be so ignorant.
I have about 80 of them Kerry. I did have 450 but sold some in October to buy a house. Boy, am I sorry I bought that house!
Anyone else turn 100% profit off BTC in the last 4 weeks?
Magic beans me sack!
I love how the nay sayers keep laughing at crypto currency’s ,
Keep trusting the bankers because they’ll never mislead you!
The value of nothing always remains as nothing.
At least when I have a 50 euro note in my pocket I know that it is 50 euros I have to spend or do whatever I like with.
I don’t understand it fully, but what I do know is that I bought some at one price and sold some at another price.
Now I’m all squared up , I’ve every cent that I spent on the BTC back in my pocket/bank and I’ve still got some BTC left over.
It’s seriously volatile, it’s a gamble and I only got interested after the Christmas hype.
But it’s something new and something that spawned from P2P culture.
Will it last? Fcuk knows!
Has it rattled the cage? Definitely!
Come back to me in 10 years time Chris and tell me what your €50 will be able to buy you.
If you say bitcoin is worth nothing, why are people paying $500 for each one at the moment?
That, like it or not is the value of bitcoin now.
And we’ll compare what 0.125BTC (€50 today) can buy in 10 years time. Should be interesting. I’m not saying for sure that bitcoin will succeed but I’ve a good feeling about it.
I’m going to put a reminder in Google Calendar for 10 years from today.
@chris kirk
A €50 note is exactly that – a note! It’s a piece of paper
It does not hold any intrinsic value only the value that the general population places on it.
Bitcoin has whatever value the market says it has based not on commodity backing but its perceived security, independence from central banks’ foolish monetary policies and its usefulness for anonymizing and cheapening international transfers of money.
Euros/Dollars/etc have whatever value the market says they have based not on commodity backing but governments’ saying it is the currency of the land.
FIAT currencies have as much or more risks than bitcoin, it’s up to buyers in a free market which they think is safer. All voluntary, no scam.
And people said the same thing a few years ago about investing in the property market. Don’t people realise when they are being conned. The bitcoin is a scam and anyone who buys something that can go up or down in value for no apparent reason is a total fool.
Buy gold if you want something that will hold it’s value.
I have a good feeling about a horse running in Fairyhouse tomorrow but I don’t intend betting on it.
I didn’t say anything of the kind about investing in the property market a few years ago. As a matter of fact I thought it was lunacy the way prices were going. That’s why I waited until last year to buy my house even though I could have got a mortgage 7 years ago.
Answer honestly Chris, have you researched how Bitcoin works?
I have extensively and that is why I have a good feeling about it.
The best minds in the IT world are working as we speak on building an infrastructure around Bitcoin that has the potential to revolutionise not only commerce but society in general.
I wonder how many of them would fall for this scam……invissible money has a habit of dissapearing in this country.
Visible money leaves the country just as fast and the ignorant still do nothing
Can they keep 5 magic beans I have,as well?
I think they only store Bitcoin, there is plenty of vaults to available for your storage needs. Better safe than sorry.
It seems that the people who dismiss it out of hand, have no idea how it works and have no intention of trying to find out.
If they spent a couple of hours looking into it, they would realise what an ingenious development bitcoin is.
If I can’t see.it touch.it or spend it in my local shop, I don’t need it.. it’s A BIT ofa CON
You prefer the official FIAT currency then. You dont touch it when its in digital form in your bank account now do you?
Tell me, the €10 note you use in the local shop, what gives it its value?
Where can I go to ‘touch’ this valuable ‘thing’ that gives value to the note?
Is it gold? Palladium? Platinum ? Silver ? Copper? Oil?
have your say