Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam needs to be the public’s punching bag to quell anti-government protests, says former Legislative Council chief Jasper Tsang
- Former president of the legislature says government needs to play catch-up in getting its message out to the public
- Comments come as Carrie Lam invites local councillors for talks, a plan already criticised by a member of her own cabinet
Pro-Beijing heavyweight Jasper Tsang Yok-sing has called on Hong Kong’s leader and her top officials to raise their PR game and act as “punching bags” to ease public anger over the ongoing political crisis.
The former Legislative Council president spoke on a radio programme on Saturday after Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor invited all district councillors for talks at the government’s headquarters the following Wednesday, in a bid to reach out to members of the community as part of a four-pronged strategy to find solutions to the months-long political impasse.
Lam announced a package of four actions on September 4 to tackle social unrest unleashed by an extradition bill allowing transfers of criminal suspects to mainland China, among other jurisdictions, for trial. Lam has since suspended, and pledged to fully withdraw, the legislation, but protests – many ending in violent clashes with police – have rolled on for months.
As well as the bill’s withdrawal, the actions Lam proposed included the appointment of two new members to the Independent Police Complaints Council, a community-wide dialogue led by principal government officials and a study of deep-rooted problems in the city by experts and community leaders.
Tsang said the proposed direct dialogue would help, but added that the government needed to play catch-up in getting its message out to the public.
