HK’s Lam dismisses ‘malicious’ report she’ll be replaced

Bloomberg

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam dismissed reports of her looming replacement as “very malicious,” reiterating that she had Beijing’s support despite more than four months of unrest.
Lam’s comments before a meeting of the city’s Executive Council came after a Financial Times report said Beijing was mulling a plan to remove Lam after her administration failed to quell months of increasingly violent unrest. Pro-establishment lawmaker Michael Tien separately told Bloomberg News that Beijing was looking into a plan to replace the chief executive, and was considering candidates to fill Hong Kong’s top job next year.
Lam called the FT report “very malicious and maybe politically driven speculation,” citing similar comments by China’s foreign ministry.
“The central government has been very supportive and remains confident that I, myself, my political team, and the Hong Kong SAR government — particularly the police — will be able to handle the situation and end violence and return Hong Kong to normal as soon as possible,” Lam said, referring to the city’s status as a special administrative region of China.
Lam’s introduction of legislation that would allow extraditions to mainland China sparked the months of protests against Beijing’s tightening grip over the former British colony. The Beijing-appointed chief executive’s decision to withdraw the bill and invoke a colonial-era emergency law to ban face masks have so far failed to stop the protests.
Lam’s approval rating fell to a record low in early October, with just 15% expressing confidence in her performance, according to the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute.

Hong Kong bars activist Joshua Wong from running in election
Bloomberg

Hong Kong disqualified activist Joshua Wong from running in District Council elections next month, in a blow to protesters’ efforts to win greater electoral influence in the former British colony.
Wong confirmed that he was barred from seeking a seat in the November 24 poll. The government said in a
separate statement, without naming any candidates, that support for “self-determination” was inconsistent with Hong Kong’s Basic Law and affirmed its support for the official who made the decision.
“I become the only candidate banned from running in November’s District Council Election,” Wong said. “It proved how Beijing manipulate the election with political censorship and screening.”
Wong, a former student activist who gained international recognition for his leadership role in the 2014 Occupy protests, has supported Hong Kong’s “self-determination” — a position city officials equate with independence.