This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Hong Kong’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, has condemned renewed violent protests that erupted over the weekend but insisted that she would not give in to activists’ political demands.

As the former British colony’s biggest political crisis since the handover to China continued into its 12th week, Lam denied on Tuesday that she had lost control of the situation and vowed to tackle the unrest and restore law and order.

'We must defend our city': A day in the life of a Hong Kong protester Read more

“Unfortunately the calm vanished in the past weekend. The protests are becoming more and more violent,” Lam told reporters before a cabinet meeting. “I stress that violence is not the way to resolve problems and shouldn’t be justified and glorified.”

The weekend protests, which followed a few days of relative calm, saw police use water cannon for the first time on Sunday along with teargas and beatings as they fought running battles with protesters, who threw bricks and petrol bombs. Six officers drew their pistols and one officer fired a warning shot into the air during a heated confrontation after the protest.

Police said they detained 86 people over the weekend, including a 12-year-old child, for offences including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons and assaulting police officers.

Play Video 1:30 Police draw guns and deploy water cannon in clashes with Hong Kong protesters – video

The confrontations were the fiercest yet between police and demonstrators since early June, when a wave of protests started in opposition to an extradition bill under which individuals could be sent to mainland China for trial. The government suspended the bill in mid-June, but protesters demanded the government completely withdraw the bill, fearing it could be reintroduced again.

The protests have since escalated into a broader anti-government, pro-democracy movement as Lam refused to formally retract the bill.

Lam said again on Tuesday that she was “not accepting those demands” and insisted that the bill “was stopped 2 months ago”.

In response to questions on whether the government will resort to declaring a state of emergency in view of the recent chaos, Lam said the government will use existing means in the legal framework to “put a stop to violence and chaos”.

Hong Kong businesses fear protests will push economy into recession Read more

A state of emergency would pave way for the Hong Kong government to seek help from the Chinese army to deal with unrest.

She insisted that the government would punish violent offenders whatever their political background, saying that police has also arrested dozens for an indiscriminate attack on civilians in a metro station and four of them had been charged with riot. She rejected calls for an independent body to police tactics.

She also rejected suggestions that the government has lost control of Hong Kong and refused to step down, saying she wanted to “hold the fort and restore society to law and order”.

“We have to say ‘no’ to violence, end the chaotic situation with law enforcement, but we will not give up on the platform for dialogue,” she said.

Lam said last week she would establish platforms for dialogue with people from different political backgrounds, although protesters dismissed her offer and said she needed to respond to their demands.

Demonstrators have five demands: the complete withdrawal of the now-suspended extradition bill; the setting up of an independent body to investigate police violence; a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots”; an amnesty for those arrested; and a resumption of political reform to allow the free election of Hong Kong’s leader and legislature.



