National security law: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam accuses the West of hypocrisy, defends mass opposition arrests

Carrie Lam says the city’s critics are guilty of applying ‘double standards’ to the 2019 unrest in Hong Kong and the recent storming of the US Capitol

She also insists ‘Hong Kong is a society of the rule of law’ after 55 former opposition lawmakers and activists were arrested over an unofficial primary election last year

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam hit back at Western critics and defended recent opposition arrests at a press conference on Tuesday. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 6:53pm, 12 Jan 2021Updated: 11:38pm, 12 Jan 2021

Hong Kong’s leader has defended the city’s recent mass arrests of opposition figures and accused foreign politicians of adopting “double standards” for condoning 2019’s often violent anti-government protests, only to condemn last week’s storming of the US Capitol by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday hit back at statements of condemnation from Western governments over the arrests, while also singling out what she called hypocrisy in their approach to Hong Kong.

“We had rampant violence and riots undermining the safety of Hong Kong people, properties and businesses. Some overseas commentators or politicians were condoning or encouraging these activities under the guise of democracy,” she told reporters, referring to the 2019 social unrest.

“But when the same things seemed to happen in their own country, they immediately took a very different approach to condemn the violence, and some said that this was verging on sedition in American society.”

Pro-Trump protesters storm the US Capitol in an effort to halt certification of the 2020 presidential election results on January 6. Photo: Reuters

Lam’s comments were in line with those of the Chinese foreign ministry, with spokeswoman Hua Chunying saying the US should reflect on why it adopted different positions on the two events.