- Title: Hong Kong's Carrie Lam condemns U.S.-backed human rights act
- Date: 16th October 2019
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE CARRIE LAM ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF LAM HOLDING ''THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S 2019 POLICY ADDRESS'' SLOGAN ON DIGITAL SCREEN READING (English/Chinese): ''TREASURE HONG KONG: OUR HOME'' (SOUNDBITE) (English) HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CARRIE LAM, SAYING: ''It is everybody's wish that Hong Kong could come out of this crisis and return to normal as soon as possible, because the damage done to Hong Kong is now already very severe, and nobody wants to see the continuation of the current situation. But to achieve that, we must not, and I emphasize, we must not sort of give up or deviate from the very fundamental principles that get the Hong Kong going.'' MEDIA SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (English) HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CARRIE LAM, SAYING: ''Yes, this policy address may not have all those political solutions. But, I did offer, especially when the situation calms down a bit, that is through dialogue, very sincere and open dialogue with various sectors in society and also should setting up of a committee to visit or to revisit the various underlying issues and tensions and conflicts in society to come up with a way forward.'' PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CARRIE LAM, SAYING: ''Especially when you are saying that foreign governments want to sanction Hong Kong officials, there is no justification. I would like to express extreme regret that the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act this morning. A foreign government or a foreign parliament is meddling in Hong Kong's internal affair. We don't need a foreign parliament to tell us how important Hong Kong's human rights, freedom and judiciary are. Because these are the core values of Hong Kong, and every Hong Kong person will strive to uphold them.'' PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CARRIE LAM, SAYING: ''In addition, the status of Hong Kong as a financial center is very important. We are one of the most global and open international financial centers in the country. Every financial center has regulatory issues and has problems with openness. My administration has focused on strengthening financial regulation and strengthening it's development equally.'' CAMERAMEN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CARRIE LAM, SAYING: ''As we can see the escalating excessive violence was conducted by a small group of rioters. They are organized and have plans, who have reached a very extreme level to destroy Hong Kong. I don't believe people who love and cherish Hong Kong would have such lawless and violent behaviours. As a result if we want to ascertain where the responsibility lies, those rioters should take the responsibility. We also hope the whole society could come together to fight against violence.'' NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 30th October 2019 10:17
- Keywords: Hong Kong China Carrie Lam demonstrator protest policy address
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: Hong Kong
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B1CIFRB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam held a news conference on Wednesday (October 16) after her televised policy address, condemning the U.S. congress for 'meddling' in the Chinese-ruled city's affairs.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed three pieces of legislation related to the Hong Kong protests, drawing a swift rebuke from Beijing, which accused the lawmakers of "sinister intentions" of undermining stability in Hong Kong.
One of the measures, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, would require the U.S. secretary of state to certify every year that Hong Kong retained its autonomy in order to keep receiving the special treatment that has allowed it to be a major financial center.
In her news conference, the Beijing-backed Lam rejected two of the protesters' five demands - amnesty for those charged and universal suffrage - saying the first was illegal and the second beyond the chief executive's power.
Lam added the city's status as a financial hub has not been shaken despite more than four months of sometimes violent anti-government protests.
The protesters are angry at what they see as Beijing's tightening grip on the city which was guaranteed 50 years of freedoms under the "one country, two systems" formula under which it returned to China in 1997.
Authorities have arrested more than 2,300 people since June when the unrest escalated, scores of them teenagers, some as young as 12 and the oldest 83. Two people have been shot and wounded, while thousands had sustained injuries.
(Production: Xihao Jiang, Joyce Zhou, Juarawee Kittisilpa) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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