HONG KONG, Sept 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Hong Kong’s embattled leader warned
the United States on Tuesday not to “interfere” with her government’s
response to the city’s pro-democracy movement, after fresh protests called on
Washington to ramp up pressure on Beijing.
Millions of people have demonstrated over the last 14 weeks in the biggest
challenge to China’s rule of the financial hub since its handover from
Britain in 1997.
Protesters took to the streets again on Sunday, marching to the American
consulate to call on Congress to pass a bill expressing support for the pro-
democracy movement.
The proposed law could undermine Hong Kong’s special US trade privileges
by mandating regular checks on whether authorities were respecting the Basic
Law that underpins the city’s semi-autonomous status.
But Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing Chief Executive Carrie Lam said that any
change to its economic relationship with Washington would threaten “mutual
benefits”.
“It’s extremely inappropriate for any country to interfere in Hong Kong’s
affairs,” she told reporters.
“I hope that no more people in Hong Kong actively reach out to tell the
United States to pass the act.”
While some American politicians on both sides of the aisle have expressed
support for the democratic goals of the protesters, President Donald Trump’s
administration has maintained a more hands-off approach while it fights a
trade war with China.
Trump has called for a peaceful resolution to the political crisis and
urged Beijing to not escalate with a violent crackdown.
But he has also said it is up to China to handle the protests.
Washington has rejected Beijing’s allegations that it is backing the
demonstrators and China has provided little evidence to back its claims
beyond supportive statements from some US politicians.
Separately, more than 150 lawmakers in Britain have called on Foreign
Secretary Dominic Raab to offer second citizenship and the right of abode to
residents of Hong Kong.
That would “send a strong message to China that the people of Hong Kong
are not alone”, the open letter said.
– ‘Crazy destruction’ –
Hong Kong’s protests were lit by a plan to allow extraditions to the
authoritarian mainland, seen by opponents as the latest move by China to chip
away at the city’s unique freedoms.
After Beijing and city leaders took a hard line, the movement snowballed
into a broader campaign calling for greater democracy, police accountability
and an amnesty for those arrested.
The protests show no signs of abating, and Lam has struck an
uncompromising tone for much of the last three months.
But last week, she made a surprise concession, announcing the full
withdrawal of the extradition bill.
That was not enough to mollify pro-democracy activists, who denounced the
move as too little and too late, and huge crowds thronged the streets again
over the weekend.
In what has become a familiar pattern, Sunday’s main daytime rally to the
US consulate passed off peacefully.
But as evening set in, riot police chased groups of hardcore protesters
who blocked roads, vandalised nearby subway stations and set makeshift
barricades on fire.
Lam once again denounced demonstrators during her Tuesday press
conference.
“The crazy destruction made at MTR stations shows that protesters have
acted beyond expressing their views on the extradition law and other
demands,” she said, using the name of the firm that runs the city’s
underground rail service.
“The escalating and continuous violence cannot solve the problems we face
in Hong Kong.”