Administration chief 'should have responded sooner to protesters' demands'
A government official was yesterday accused of being responsible for the clashes outside the Central Government Offices (CGO) last Friday after she allegedly missed the chance to reach a peaceful resolution at an early stage.
The accusations were levelled at Director of Administration Chang King-yiu at a special meeting of the Legco security panel.
Protesters have demanded that the administration wing and the police apologise for suppressing demonstrators' rights and using excessive force to remove them from the area.
After the two-hour meeting, panel chairman James To Kun-sun concluded that the director of administration, who commanded the handling of the demonstration, failed to resolve it peacefully in the early stages.
'The administration wing, especially the director of administration, seriously failed in their job,' Mr To said.
The scuffles occurred after more than 300 people marched to the offices just after a 3,000-strong candlelit vigil at Chater Garden ended at 9.15pm last Thursday. The group was trying to back 30 students who had earlier entered the CGO compound to petition Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa or senior officials in protest against the interpretation of the Basic Law.