Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam warns protesters she would not cave in to their demands, says they have undermined city's law and order
A protester throws a brick at the police in Wong Tai Sin. Pic/AFP
Hong Kong: Hong Kong riot police clashed on Monday with pro-democracy protesters for a third straight day, as the city's leader warned the global financial hub was nearing a "very dangerous situation" and a rare strike caused transport chaos. Clouds of tear gas billowed across multiple locations on Monday afternoon as the city buckled under a general strike, which protesters pushed to emphasise they still had broad public support following two months of increasingly violent unrest.
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In a rare public appearance since the crisis began, chief executive Carrie Lam warned protesters she would not cave in to their demands. "(They) have seriously undermined Hong Kong's law and order and are pushing our city, the city that we all love and many of us helped to build, to the verge of a very dangerous situation," Lam said.
She later referenced chants by protesters for a "revolution", describing this as a challenge to the "one country, two systems" framework under which Hong Kong has been ruled since it returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997. "I dare say they are trying to destroy Hong Kong," said Lam, who was appointed by a pro-Beijing committee.
Lam spoke on a day that saw widespread civil disobedience across the city. Tear gas was fired in four separate locations, making Monday's clashes the most widespread so far. The most sustained clashes occurred outside the city's parliament - where protesters used giant slingshots to launch bricks - and in the working-class district of Wong Tai Sin. The strike also hit the vital aviation sector. More than 160 flights at the city's airport, one of the world's busiest, were listed as cancelled on Monday afternoon.
1,000
No. of rounds of tear gas fired since June 9
160
No. of rubber bullets fired since June 9
420
No. of people arrested since June 9
139
No. of cops injured since June 9
HK$1mn for info on protester
Former Hong Kong chief executive CY Leung has offered 1 million Hong Kong dollars for information on the "maniac who threw the national (China's) flag into the sea." During demonstrations on Saturday, a protester threw the Chinese national flag into the sea after removing it from near a building in Tsim Sha Tsui.
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