Senior adviser to Beijing lashes out at ‘insufficient’ Hong Kong leadership and warns shake-up may be coming
- Lau Siu-kai delivers a stinging criticism of the administration’s performance over the months of anti-government protests
- A ‘new regime’ run by patriots would better achieve goals the Chinese central government has for the city, he says
A senior Hong Kong adviser to Beijing has lashed out at local government officials over their handling of anti-government protests and said a major leadership reshuffle was possible to restore legitimacy.
Lau Siu-kai, who is vice-president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, delivered the criticism in an article written in Chinese titled “The deep-rooted problems behind the anti-extradition bill movement” published in the Hong Kong and Macao Journal.
Lau said the abilities and courage of city officials and pro-establishment forces were “obviously insufficient” throughout the protests that erupted in June and morphed into a broad condemnation of the Hong Kong and central governments.
The bill was finally withdrawn in September but violent demonstrations raged for months, sparking a public demand for an inquiry into the police’s use of force. Some protesters have also staged rallies against the government’s quarantine policies to contain the coronavirus epidemic.
Without naming them, Lau said officials had underestimated the seriousness of the crisis and “many protected their personal interests but failed to take decisive and severe measures to stop the violence as soon as possible”.
