Tag: carrie lam

Former Hong Kong security chief resigns ahead of leadership bid

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A hardline former Hong Kong security chief sanctioned by the US for his role in China’s campaign against dissent resigned on Wednesday, kickstarting his expected bid to become the city’s next leader. John Lee, who oversaw the police response to huge democracy protests three years ago and a subsequent crackdown, will go on leave with immediate effect, according to a government press release. Lee, 64, has been widely tipped […]

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to leave office

by Holmes Chan and Jerome Taylor © Agence France-Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam announced Monday that she will step down in June, ending a divisive term that saw democracy protests squashed and strict pandemic curbs plunge the business hub into international isolation. Ending months of speculation, Lam confirmed she would not seek a second term when a committee made up of the city’s political elite chooses a new leader […]

Hong Kong Chief Executive, top officials get Chinese Sinovac jabs

  (Eagle News) — Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam, along with members of her cabinet, received the first dose of Sinovac vaccines which were shipped on Friday from mainland China. Friday’s delivery of the Sinovac doses were part of the first shipmemt of one million Sinovac jabs. Lam, on Monday, Feb. 22, said that she and her senior officials decided to make the public their vaccination to set as examples to the Home Kong […]

Hong Kong leader vows to ‘listen humbly’ after shock poll result

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s unpopular leader Carrie Lam said on Monday her government would “listen humbly” to the public after voters dealt a humiliating election setback to the Beijing-backed establishment she heads. “The government will certainly listen humbly to citizens’ opinions and reflect on them seriously,” she said in a statement issued by the government. Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp scored a crushing victory in community-level elections held on Sunday, a result that […]

Hong Kongers vote in record numbers as democracy camp seeks to send message

  by Yan ZHAO / Xinqi SU Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s voters turned out in record numbers Sunday for local council elections that the city’s pro-democracy movement hopes will add pressure on the Beijing-backed government to heed their demands after months of violent protest. Lengthy queues snaked out of polling stations across the territory in the election for 18 district councils, where high turnout is expected to benefit democratic […]

China plans to replace Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam: FT

  by Helen Roxburgh with Yan Zhao in Hong Kong Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing is drawing up a plan to remove Hong Kong’s beleaguered Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, after nearly five months of pro-democracy unrest. The pro-Beijing leader has faced sustained criticism from protesters in the semi-autonomous city. So far, the Chinese central government has given its support to her and the Hong Kong police, calling […]

Hong Kong ‘won’t rule out’ Chinese over protests: leadersts: leader

by James EDGAR / Jasmine LEUNG HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s under-fire leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday she would not rule out accepting help from mainland China in tackling increasingly violent pro-democracy protests. The financial hub has been gripped by four months of rallies, and last weekend saw much of the city grind to a halt as masked demonstrators took to the streets in defiance of a controversial ban on face coverings. Lam’s […]

Hong Kong’s leader warns city faces ‘path of no return’

by Catherine LAI / India BOURKE HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Violent protests are driving Hong Kong down a “path of no return”, the city’s leader warned Tuesday as its airport struggled to recover from an unprecedented shutdown triggered by a rally and authorities in Beijing sent more ominous signals that the unrest must end. The airport, one of the busiest in the world, re-opened on Tuesday morning but hundreds of flights remained canceled and […]

‘No chance of retreating’: Hong Kong protesters return to streets

by Yan ZHAO / Catherine LAI Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Police in Hong Kong fired volleys of tear gas Sunday at thousands of pro-democracy protesters who defied warnings from authorities to hit the streets for the tenth weekend in a row. The protesters staged a second night of “hit-and-run” rallies, splitting into small groups that scattered across the city to set up temporary roadblocks and face off against riot police. Police […]

Clashes, travel chaos in Hong Kong as leader warns city on brink

  by Elaine YU / Yan ZHAO Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong riot police clashed with pro-democracy protesters for a third straight day Monday as the city’s leader warned the global financial hub was nearing a “very dangerous situation”, and a rare strike caused transport chaos. Clouds of tear gas billowed across the working-class district of Wong Tai Sin on Monday afternoon as the city buckled under rare general strike, […]

Hong Kong leader Lam says China extradition bill ‘dead’

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday said a widely loathed proposal to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland “is dead” — but again stopped short of protester demands to withdraw the bill. The finance hub has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history following a month of huge marches as well as separate violent confrontations with police involving a minority of hardcore protesters. “There are […]

Hong Kong grapples with protest aftermath as China demands criminal probe

  by Yan ZHAO / Catherine LAI Agence France Presse Hong Kong Tuesday grappled with the aftermath of a night of unprecedented anti-government protests which saw parliament ransacked, as Beijing called for a criminal probe into the unparalleled challenge to its authority. The semi-autonomous financial hub has been thrown into crisis by weeks of demonstrations over a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland, with the issue becoming a lightning rod for resentment […]