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Advisers to Hong Kong’s leader considered collective resignation over ongoing protests, Executive Council member Regina Ip reveals
- But idea was rejected by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who said cabinet members only played a minor role in political crisis
- Regina Ip adds that government may consider a reshuffle of ministers, but this depends on whether their positions can be filled
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An adviser to Hong Kong’s embattled leader has revealed that members of her cabinet had considered resigning en masse amid the ongoing anti-government protests, but the idea was rejected by the chief executive who said they only played a minor role in the political crisis.
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, an executive councillor, disclosed the move for the first time on Sunday as demonstrations continue into their seventh month, sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.
The movement has morphed into a wider campaign for more democracy and an independent inquiry into police’s handling of protests, marking Hong Kong’s biggest social unrest since its 1997 return to Chinese rule.
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“An executive councillor had [informally] told Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor that we did not mind tabling a collective resignation, if it helped the situation,” Ip said in a television interview.
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“But the chief executive said we were on the periphery, merely giving advice … meaning if anyone should have to be held accountable, Executive Council members would not be the first.”
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