Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she hoped a peaceful weekend anti-government protest was the start of an effort to restore peace and that dialogue with peaceful protesters would provide a “way out” for the Chinese-ruled city.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in torrential rain on Sunday in the 11th week of what have been often violent demonstrations.
“I sincerely hope that this was the beginning of society returning to peace and staying away from violence,” Lam said.
“We will immediately start the work to establish a platform for dialogue. This dialogue, I hope, will be based on a mutual understanding and respect and find a way out for today’s Hong Kong.”
Anger erupted in June over a now-suspended bill that would allow criminal suspects in the former British colony to be extradited to mainland China.
But the unrest has been fuelled by broader worries about the erosion of freedoms guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” formula put in place after Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997, including an independent judiciary and the right to protest.
Further protests are planned in the next few days, including one by MTR subway workers on Wednesday, secondary school students on Thursday and accountants on Friday.
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