Carrie Lam holds her first community dialogue and participants are banned from carrying umbrellas, gas masks and helmets as police keep a low profile
- Two-hour dialogue session scheduled for Thursday evening in Wan Chai
- Force keeps ‘maximum reserve’ on standby in case protesters try to besiege venue
Hong Kong’s beleaguered leader will hold her first dialogue with the community on Thursday amid mounting fears of protesters besieging the venue, but police intend to keep a minimal presence to set participants at ease, sources have told the Post.
The force will however have a “maximum reserve” nearby to deal with any disruption.
The 150 randomly selected participants will be banned from taking umbrellas, gas masks or helmets – standard gear for protesters during the ongoing unrest – when they meet Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor for the two-hour session at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai.
Shops and schools around the area were not taking any chances, with a number saying they planned to close early to avoid any trouble well before the session starts at 7pm.
Apart from Lam, government ministers speaking at the dialogue, which she pledged to hold to provide a platform to listen to citizens, will include Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah, commerce chief Edward Yau Tang-wah, health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, sources said.
A senior police source said that, to avoid worrying participants, the force’s presence inside and around the venue would be minimised, but enough officers would be on standby in the vicinity to be deployed if there was any violence.