China Should Get Rid Of The Political Disaster Called Carrie Lam

On October 1, as China celebrated its 70th national day, tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong were out on the streets, observing a ‘day of grief’.

- Sumitra Nair

In his national day address, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to protect the stability of Hong Kong, which is a special administrative region under China. But the protesters were defiant as they shut down streets, shopping malls and metro stations. In the ensuing clash with the police, many of them were badly injured, including one who got shot in the chest.

Hong Kong has witnessed massive protest demonstrations since June after the local government led by the pro-Chinese Chief Executive Carrie Lam introduced a proposal to allow the extradition of criminal suspects to the mainland. Although Hong Kong is no stranger to anti-government protests, the ongoing crisis has been the most intense since Britain ceded the city state to China in 1997. Protestors have been dodging rubber bullets, tear gas shells and water cannons during months of demonstrations. The wave of protests has now turned into a pro-democracy movement.

Hong Kong, one of the major business hubs in the world, is facing huge financial losses because of the protests. The aviation industry alone has incurred losses worth $76 million (till August) from flight cancellations caused by protests at the busy Hong Kong airport. The retail industry saw sales plummeting by 11.4 per cent.

Protesters want Lam to go. “The government is very obedient to Beijing,” says Claudia Mo, Hong Kong legislator and pro-democracy leader. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Mo says Lam got lots of money to pass the extradition bill and that she refuses to listen to the people.

Edited excerpts:

The police have been using force to disperse protesters.

Beijing initially thought of using its army in Hong Kong, but it cannot afford to use its military to crack down on severe social unrest. So it is using the Hong Kong Police as a prop for the Chinese army, which explains the rampant police brutality. We want a stop to that.