AFP, HONG KONGDeeply unpopular Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) yesterday acknowledged that public dissatisfaction with her government fueled a landslide win by pro-democracy candidates in local elections, but offered no new concessions to resolve months of violent protests. Millions of Hong Kongers earlier this year took to the streets after Lam’s government introduced a bill to allow extraditions to China’s opaque judicial system. Lam’s latest comments indicated “no reflection, no response and no resolution” for Hong Kong’s ongoing crisis, Democratic Party Legislator Lam Cheuk-ting (林卓廷) said. “External forces that have helped stoke the months-long anti-government campaign in [Hong Kong] also contributed greatly to damaging the election chances of pro-establishment candidates,” it said. The result revived speculation that Carrie Lam might be dumped by Beijing, but a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman on Monday reiterated the government’s backing.
