Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that she was "very willing" to meet the public and hear the views of people amid the resignation of all opposition lawmakers from the Legislative Council of China's administrative region.
"I would very much like to go into the community to organise more sessions to meet with the people ... Now… with the security law, law and order has been restored. Chaos has been replaced by peacefulness ... I am very willing, very ready to meet with the people of Hong Kong," Lam said at a press conference, as quoted by Hong Kong Free Press.
Earlier in November, the Hong Kong Democratic Party's lawmakers decided to resign from the Legislative Council, leaving the legislature without opposition to the pro-government members, shortly after four democratic lawmakers had been disqualified under a resolution passed by Beijing, which allowed Hong Kong to disqualify lawmakers if they are deemed a threat to national security.
Democrat Lam Cheuk-ting - set to quit as a lawmaker - unfurled a banner in the legislature on Thursday referencing the chief executive: "Carrie Lam harms Hong Kong and make people suffer, Carrie Lam will stink for 10,000 years." pic.twitter.com/EMEMdG8OVb
— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) November 12, 2020
Carrie Lam described the Legislative Council without the opposition members as "more rational."
"I would say that with a more rational legislative council, it actually provides a much better platform for myself and my senior officials and my departmental colleagues to be engaged with the legislative councillors on issues of mutual concern," the politician said.
In June 2019, mass protests erupted in Hong Kong as a reaction to a proposed bill that would allow people to be extradited from the administrative region to mainland China. The demonstrations continued for weeks and turned violent even after the unpopular measure was withdrawn in September 2019. Beijing said that the situation in Hong Kong was a result of foreign interference in China's domestic affairs.
Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people take to the street in protest of the proposed law of extradition to China on Sunday. #hk #protest pic.twitter.com/2WVDLCesqB
— EYEPRESS NEWS AGENCY (@eyepressnews) June 9, 2019
To stabilize the situation in the city and eliminate the threat of international interference, the Chinese government started to impose stricter laws. In late June, Beijing enacted the national security law in Hong Kong. The new legislation banned separatist and terrorist activities, along with any form of foreign interference in Hong Kong.
