‘Dangerous and inappropriate’: Hong Kong leader reprimands lawmaker for ‘stirring up conflicts’ with 2019 social unrest narratives
- John Lee responds to lawmaker Paul Tse’s remarks that residents not in mood to engage in large-scale events as he questions authorities’ law enforcement approach
- Lee says some of Tse’s words remind him of adjectives often used in ‘soft resistance’ and by ‘reactionary forces’ during 2019 unrest
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has warned against attempts to stir up conflicts through stories related to the 2019 social unrest after a lawmaker told him Hongkongers were depressed under the city’s “legalist rule”.
Sparks flew in the Legislative Council chamber on Thursday when veteran lawmaker Paul Tse Wai-chun spoke during the city leader’s question and answer session with legislators on coming home-grown national security legislation and how to drive the economy forward with mega events.
Tse, a lawyer, said Hongkongers felt “tense, heavy-hearted and joyless” and were not in the mood to engage in large-scale events as he questioned authorities’ law enforcement approach.
“Plain-clothes [officers] lurk and [ambush] residents who do not strictly follow the rules when crossing the road, heavy fines are imposed on restaurants obstructing streets, and there are constant and round-the-clock operations against bookstores and canteens in factory buildings,” Tse said.
He was apparently referring to recent complaints from several independent bookstores, which had sympathised with the 2019 anti-government protests, about being subjected to unusually frequent fire safety checks last month.
The lawmaker also suggested that authorities had placed more importance on views voiced on Xiaohongshu, mainland China’s Instagram-like social media platform, than those of the taxpayers in Hong Kong.