Activists in Hong Kong will not achieve their political goals by resorting to further violence, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Monday at a press conference following a day of escalated mass protests
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2019) Activists in Hong Kong will not achieve their political goals by resorting to further violence, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Monday at a press conference following a day of escalated mass protests."[I] will send a clear message that there is no question that escalating violence can get what the rioters want - not from the government, not from society at large," Lam said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post newspaper.
According to Lam, violence will only lead to more violence, and if the government yields to the political demands of protesters, it will result in the situation deteriorating.
On Friday, local media reported that a student from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology had died after falling from a building where police fired tear gas amid the unrest. It was also reported that the police had fired multiple rounds of tear gas nearby. The incident is believed to be the first fatality directly linked to the protests. That same day, protesters took to the streets to honor memory of the student, but city police again used tear gas to disperse them.
The demonstration continued on Monday with law enforcement officers using their firearms in three districts, which injured one person. The demonstrators, in turn, blocked roads, and threw Molotov cocktails, bricks and other heavy objects at the police. According to local media, protesters have launched an online bullying campaign against an officer who fired a shot at one of them.
These protests initially started in early June over a controversial extradition bill that was eventually withdrawn in October. Frustrated with the local authorities' heavy-handed responses to the protests, the demonstrators expanded their demands to include calls for an independent investigation into alleged police brutality, greater civil liberties like universal suffrage, and Lam's resignation.
Beijing has repeatedly stated that the situation in Hong Kong is the result of foreign interference in China's domestic affairs and expressed full support for the actions of the local authorities.
