Fresh Chaos in Hong Kong’s Legislature Shows Gridlock Facing Carrie Lam

Hong Kong’s legislature was interrupted for the second straight day as pro-democracy lawmakers shouted down Chief Executive Carrie Lam, a day after their protests forced her to deliver her annual policy address by video.

About a dozen opposition lawmakers were dragged from the city’s Legislative Council by security staff for raising noisy objections Thursday. The ejected legislators shouted at Lam and waved placards that showed the chief executive with blood on her hands from recent violent protests in the financial hub.

The body’s president suspended the session, but opposition lawmakers continued their disruptions -- before more of the 24 elected pro-democracy lawmakers were pulled out and the meeting was suspended a second time.

“This is expected,” pro-establishment lawmaker Felix Chung told Bloomberg TV as the chaos unfolded.

The pro-democracy bloc only comprises about a third of lawmakers, but the displays this week showed they have the ability to delay or even shut down debate on major economic initiatives, even if they don’t have the votes. That spells even more trouble ahead for an economy sliding into recession as protests against Beijing’s grip over the city grow increasingly violent.

A day earlier, agitating lawmakers used a projector to shine the protest slogan “Five Demands, Not One Less” onto her face, with Lam repeatedly pausing as she tried to deliver her policy address in the Legislative Council, known as LegCo. Finally she gave up, and delivered her address, which normally details economic priorities, via video instead.

“If she fails to respond to the five demands, it would be a fantasy to expect normal business to resume in the Legislative Council,” said Alvin Yeung, a pro-democracy lawmaker who participated in the disruption, on Wednesday. “All of these livelihood issues, she could have introduced them a year ago. She’s trying to compete for popularity. She’s trying to win over people’s hearts. But this is doomed to fail without any legitimacy.”

In her address, Lam pledged to make housing more affordable and promised cash handouts for students, many of whom have been on the front lines of demonstrations that have spurred regular clashes with police over the past four months. They were among some 200 initiatives aimed at easing some of the discontent that has fueled the protests.

But she’ll have a hard time implementing them as well as a $2.4 billion stimulus package announced in August without the support of lawmakers.

“Many of these measures cannot be implemented without funding approval from the Legislative Council,” James Lau, acting Financial Secretary, said in an emailed statement on Wednesday, referring to the stimulus. A backlog of projects worth more than HK$70 billion ($8.9 billion) and involving about 14,000 jobs is awaiting approval by the Finance Committee, Lau said.

More than 50 legislative proposals are currently awaiting action, according to an Oct. 16 meeting agenda. While some deal with mundane administrative issues -- fees on karaoke parlors and bus route schedules -- others include deliberations on a face-mask ban implemented under a colonial-era emergency law and the official withdrawal of the extradition bill that sparked the protests.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

TICTOC ON SOCIAL:

Follow TicToc on Twitter

Like TicToc on Facebook

Follow TicToc on Instagram

Subscribe to our newsletter

TicToc by Bloomberg is global news for the life you lead. We are a 24/7 news network that covers breaking news, politics, technology, business and entertainment stories from around the globe, supported by a network of Bloomberg’s 2,700 journalists across 120 countries.