Anger of the young at Hong Kong government now goes beyond the extradition bill, and targets the legitimacy of Carrie Lam’s administration
- Storming of Legco shows Lam’s efforts at reconnecting with youth are doomed, with new demands now in focus, say scholars
- Politicians from across the divide say political reform offers way out of impasse
Outside the chamber of Hong Kong’s now-trashed legislature, a graffitied slogan on a pillar stands out: “It was you who taught me peaceful marches are useless.”
Angry protesters had also spray-painted three Chinese characters in black behind the podium of the chamber: “genuine universal suffrage”.
Animosity at the government’s intransigence over the extradition bill, which it has refused to fully withdraw, reached boiling point on Monday evening when hundreds of mostly young protesters stormed the Legislative Council building and chamber. They wrote slogans on the wall, sprayed over Hong Kong’s official emblem with black paint and smashed equipment and installations.
Scholars and lawmakers warned that the unprecedented ransacking showed the ongoing public backlash had gone beyond the controversial bill and was now targeting the legitimacy of the administration.
They also cast doubt on whether beleaguered leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor might still be able to re-engage with frustrated young people in the wake of the crisis, despite her repeated pledges to do so.
“The relationship between the youngsters and Lam has now become almost irredeemable,” said Dr Edmund Cheng Wai, a political scientist at Baptist University.