Hong Kong Leader Defends Police, Dodges Questions and Chokes Up in Press Briefing
- Lam warns continued unrest risks tipping city into ‘abyss’
- Deflects shouted questions about resignation, other action
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Hong Kong’s embattled leader warned that the Asian financial center risked sliding into “an abyss,” in a contentious news conference in which she continued to sidestep key questions about the government’s response to weeks of unrest.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday repeated her defense of the police’s use of tear gas against protesters in residential areas and a train station, saying she wouldn’t question law enforcement tactics. She didn’t answer repeated shouted questions about whether she should step down or formally withdraw the extradition legislation that prompted the sometimes violent protests that have scared away tourists, disrupted commutes and briefly shut down the city’s main airport Monday.