Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam denies offering to resign over protests despite leaked audio
Hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in recent months, with some of the worst violence over the weekend.
Wednesday 4 September 2019 08:50, UK
Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam has insisted she has never asked the Chinese government to let her resign to end the city's political crisis 鈥� despite a leaked voice recording of her saying she would step down if she could.
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in Hong Kong since mid-June to protest over a now-suspended extradition bill, which would have seen people sent to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts.
Ms Lam told business leaders last week that she had caused "unforgivable havoc" by introducing the extradition bill and that if she had a choice then she would apologise and resign, according to a leaked audio recording obtained by the Reuters news agency.
But in a televised news conference on Tuesday, Hong Kong's chief executive said she had never considered asking to resign and that Beijing believed her government could solve the crisis without mainland China's intervention.
"I have not even contemplated discussing a resignation to the central people's government. The choice of resigning, it's my own choice," Ms Lam said.
"I told myself repeatedly in the last three months that I and my team should stay on to help Hong Kong... That's why I said that I have not given myself the choice to take an easier path and that is to leave."
She added that she was disappointed that comments made in a private meeting, where she had been sharing the "journey of my heart", had been leaked.
Ms Lam was elected by a pro-Beijing committee of Hong Kong elites and has come under withering criticism for pushing the widely opposed extradition bill that set off the protests.
The growing unrest has morphed into a broader call for Chinese-ruled Hong Kong to be granted greater autonomy by Beijing, which has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest.
In the leaked audio recording, Ms Lam said that her ability to resolve the crisis was now "very limited", but she said on Tuesday that her government could bring an end to unrest.
"I think I can lead my team to help Hong Kong to walk out from this dilemma. I still have the confidence to do this," she said.
"Up until now, the central government still thinks [the Hong Kong] government has the ability to handle this."
Hong Kong school and university students are due to boycott classes and hold pro-democracy rallies for the second straight day.
It follows a weekend marred by some of the worst violence since the unrest escalated more than three months ago, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs, and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons.
China's central government has said it fully supports Ms Lam and the Hong Kong government to use all lawful means to put an end to the violent protests.
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Protesters are seeking greater democracy for the former British colony which returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that guarantees wide-ranging autonomy, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary.
They fear those freedoms are being slowly eroded by Communist Party rulers in Beijing, a charge China denies.