Chance to pin down Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on protest chaos came with few expectations – and just as few new answers
- After 30 participants had their say, it was clear they were not going to get many new answers
- Event was supposed to be about engaging people from all walks of life but absence of anyone from city’s ethnic minority communities was glaring
I left Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s first town-hall style dialogue session feeling pretty much the same I did on the way in – underwhelmed.
A friend who knew I was among those selected told me that I should come up with questions that would not allow Lam to get away with old answers.
As I walked into the heavily guarded venue at Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the atmosphere was tense and the silence palpable because participants had no idea about the political views of the person sitting next to them – understandable, considering the recent violence between rival groups in the streets.
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Security guards in black suits sandwiched some of the participants in the front row, and the whole crowd sat facing a small stage with thick black curtains.
The man sitting on my right pulled out a surgical mask and put it on. He was making last-minute changes to his notes on a slip of paper.
Once Lam took to the stage and the grilling began, the audience seemed to warm up as they became more engaged in the discussion.
There was a bit of heckling, but also applause for some questions, and participants were largely respectful about each other’s input.
After 30 people had their say, it was clear that they were not getting any new answers, except for one particular issue: under questioning, Lam announced that police had stopped using San Uk Ling Holding Centre in Sheung Shui to detain protesters.
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I had a chance to ask my questions, and devoted them to the government’s unwillingness to restart the city’s stalled political-reform process and launch an independent inquiry into the conduct of police – the protesters’ key remaining demands after Lam’s U-turn to formally withdraw the extradition bill that sparked the crisis.
While Lam had made this event all about engaging people from all walks of life, I couldn’t help noticing the glaring absence of anyone from the city’s ethnic minority communities in the room. There was also no simultaneous interpretation for non-Cantonese speakers, or sign-language interpretation for any hearing impaired at the venue.
It was inevitable that some would have to leave disappointed.
“I didn’t get drawn [to ask a question], but I actually support you [the government],” a woman sitting in front of me complained to moderator Kenneth Ng King-tsun, a former news anchor turned political assistant.
She had a problem with some people speaking beyond their three-minute allotted time, but her disappointment made me think about the masses of people taking to the streets who have still had no opportunity to get as close as she did to Lam.
How did they feel about their calls being unanswered by authorities over the past months?
Some of them continued to chant outside the stadium as I walked out.
In several places, protesters had placed a chair with Lam’s name on it - an invitation to talk to them.
And to say, they are not done yet.
