HONG KONG • In a rare public appearance, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam yesterday visited a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station in the heart of the city's financial district, one day after it was trashed by radical anti-government protesters.
Accompanied by Transport and Housing Secretary Frank Chan and senior MTR officials, Mrs Lam was shown repair work that had been done at Central station.
She examined electronic ticketing machines and boarded-up windows that were smashed, according to footage by public broadcaster RTHK. Mrs Lam also chatted with MTR staff and commuters.
The South China Morning Post quoted Mr Chan as saying: "We came to take a look at the facilities and to raise the morale of MTR staff, who worked overnight to restore facilities and services."
"Protesters should respect commuters' rights," he added.
On Sunday, activists started fires in the street and vandalised four MTR stations - Central, Wan Chai, Mong Kok and Prince Edward - after thousands rallied peacefully at the United States Consulate, calling for help in bringing democracy to the Special Administrative Region.
Turnstiles, ticket machines and glass panes in the stations were trashed by radical protesters. Some of them also started a fire at one of the entrances to Central station.
The stations were temporarily closed on Sunday, but reopened yesterday morning.
Yesterday, hundreds of school students in uniforms, many wearing masks, formed human chains in districts across Hong Kong in support of anti-government protesters. Earlier in the day, before school started, rows of students and alumni joined hands, chanting "Hong Kong people, add oil", a phrase which means "keep it up" and has become a rallying cry for the protest movement.
"The school-based human chain is the strongest showcase of how this protest is deep-rooted in society, so deep-rooted that it enters through the school students," said Mr Alan Leong, an alumnus of Wah Yan College in the city's Kowloon district.
Three months of increasingly violent protests over a now-withdrawn extradition Bill have evolved into a broader backlash against the government and greater calls for democracy.
Police said yesterday that they arrested 157 people in the past three days, including 125 men and 32 women aged 14 to 63, bringing the total number to more than 1,300.
Students forming the human chains also held up posters with the protesters' five demands for the government, calling on the authorities to respond to the promises of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, which were promised when Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997.
One of the five demands - to formally withdraw the extradition Bill - was announced last week by Mrs Lam, but protesters are angry about her failure to call an independent inquiry into accusations of police brutality against demonstrators.
The protesters' other demands include the retraction of the word "riot" to describe demonstrations, the release of all those arrested and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leaders.
Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" framework that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland. Many Hong Kong residents fear that Beijing is eroding that autonomy.
REUTERS
