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Hong Kong Legislature Suspended After Carrie Lam Policy Speech Disrupted

Pro-democracy lawmakers projected the slogan “Five demands, not one less” onto the podium.

Hong Kong Legislature Suspended After Carrie Lam Policy Speech Disrupted
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, attends a news conference in Hong Kong, China. (Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong’s legislature adjourned shortly after Chief Executive Carrie Lam began her annual policy address on Wednesday, as opposition lawmakers repeatedly shouted protest slogans.

As she tried to speak, pro-democracy lawmakers projected the slogan “Five demands, not one less” onto the podium. Lam immediately left the building, and the government announced she would deliver the address via video at 12:15 p.m.

“Lam is afraid to face the citizens and is afraid to face the legislature,” Tanya Chan of the pro-democracy Civic Party told reporters after the adjournment. “We are projecting the demands of the citizens on her face today and onto the face of the legislature.”

Hong Kong Legislature Suspended After Carrie Lam Policy Speech Disrupted

The address was scheduled amid the city’s most serious political crisis in decades, which has put the economy on the brink of recession. The U.S.-China trade war has impacted exports while protests have scared away visitors from the city’s shopping malls, restaurants and luxury hotels.

Lam’s administration has struggled for months to resolve escalating protests sparked by a since-withdrawn bill allowing extraditions to China that have expanded into a broader push for demands including an independent police inquiry and the ability to pick and elect their own leaders. The violence intensified in October after Lam invoked a rarely used emergency law to ban protesters from wearing masks.

Lam said Tuesday the policy address would include measures to address Hong Kong’s longstanding housing and land supply problem as well as some 200 other initiatives.

“I’m sure you agree that the most important livelihood issue that a chief executive should address would be housing and land supply,” Lam said on Tuesday. She first unveiled her controversial plan to reclaim land off Lantau Island during last year’s address.

Here are some measures local media are reporting may be included in the upcoming address:

  • The Hong Kong Economic Journal reported Wednesday that Lam plans to announce a target for compulsory land requisitions of 700 hectares over the next five years.
  • The government will ease immigration rules for tech talent, expanding its current plan to woo workers to cover those employed by companies outside of the Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport, Sing Tao Daily reported.
  • Hong Kong plans to expand its railway network by constructing three new railway extensions, Cable TV news reported late Tuesday

The International Monetary Fund this week slashed its forecasts for Hong Kong’s economic growth, now estimating expansion of just 0.3% in 2019, down from the 2.7% forecast in April.

Hong Kong Legislature Suspended After Carrie Lam Policy Speech Disrupted

Financial Secretary Paul Chan presented a $2.4 billion stimulus package in August to help bolster the economy. He’s also called on property owners and developers to offer rent relief to struggling retailers. About 100 restaurants have shut down because of the unrest, affecting about 2,000 employees, he said in a Chinese-language blog post on Sunday.

To contact the reporters on this story: Eric Lam in Hong Kong at elam87@bloomberg.net;Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Jeffrey Black

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.