“Our biggest worry now is Nov. 24; we are thinking how we can minimize our loss,” he added.

Mrs. Lam has tried repeatedly, if ineffectively, to reach what she sees as compromises with the pro-democracy opposition, most notably by first suspending and then agreeing to withdraw the extradition bill that sparked the protests. She has tried to set up public and private dialogues with her opponents, only to have an unflattering audio recording leak from one event and democracy advocates picket at another.

To the pro-democracy side, she is a figurehead for a government increasingly beholden to Beijing. She had to release her policy address on Wednesday as a video after pro-democracy lawmakers shouted her down in the legislative chamber.

Any effort by Mrs. Lam to begin a dialogue with democracy activists, though, has just intensified criticism among Beijing’s most outspoken allies.

“The Carrie Lam government is still trying to curry favor with the opposition, thinking that she has the support of the pro-Beijing people,” said Lau Siu-kai, who was a top Hong Kong official until 2012 and is now one of Beijing’s top advisers on Hong Kong policy. Beijing sees the opposition “as hard-line opponents and as a die-hard, anti-communist element willing to collude with foreign forces, above all the United States.”

About all that Beijing’s allies agree on these days is their strong support for the Hong Kong police.

“The government ought to have gotten tougher, taking firmer action sooner,” said Regina Ip, a member of Mrs. Lam’s cabinet and a lawmaker who leads a pro-Beijing political party that supports strict adherence to law and order.