Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam slams US Senator for 'Police State' remark

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam yesterday said that it's totally irresponsible and unfounded to suggest the semi-autonomous Chinese territory is becoming a police state as her government grapples with protests now in their fifth month. Responding to criticism from visiting U.S. senators, Carrie Lam has defended Hong Kong's 30,000-strong police force, now widely detested by protesters for its riot-control methods and nearly 2,600 arrests.

 

The protests started in June over a contested extradition bill that would have allowed some criminal suspects to



be sent for trial in mainland China and have snowballed into an anti-government, anti-police and anti-China movement. The protests have increasingly ended in violence between hardcore demonstrators and police.

 

Despite repeated government appeals for people not to take the side of those involved in vandalism, the protest movement is still rousing determined support from more moderate demonstrators, broadly worried about the future of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory and its freedoms, unique in China.