Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam makes first appearance in a week to reassure under-fire police they have her full support
- Chief executive meets heads of police unions to thank them for staying in their posts and fulfilling their duties under severe pressure
- Lam’s top officials urge protesters not to vent anger against government on frontline police officers
Hong Kong’s embattled leader resurfaced for the first time in a week for a morale-boosting meeting with police union leaders on Thursday, after a six-hour siege of the force’s headquarters the night before by hundreds of protesters demanding she completely withdraw the government’s now-suspended extradition bill.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s office issued a statement announcing she had met the heads of four staff associations representing the city’s 30,000 officers at Government House to assure them of her administration’s full support, and to praise them for showing restraint while under fire from protesters.
“Mrs Lam expressed her heartfelt thanks to members of the force for fulfilling their duties with dedication during the disputes and clashes in society caused by the legislative amendment exercise, striking a balance between the public’s freedom of expression and social order, and maintaining law and order in Hong Kong,” the statement read.
“She said she understands that members of the force and their family members have been put under pressure and that a small number of people even provoked the police intentionally, which is not acceptable.”
The statement was published online with a photograph of Lam that provided the first glimpse of her since June 18, when she apologised for her government’s mishandling of the legislation, which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China and other jurisdictions with which Hong Kong has no extradition deal.