Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) yesterday arrived in Beijing for meetings with senior Chinese officials seeking to end pro-democracy protests in the territory.
Lam, whose administration has been criticized for its handling of the unrest, arrived at a hotel in Beijing at about midday for an annual visit, Radio Television Hong Kong reported.
Her trip comes shortly after an estimated 800,000 people took to the streets in a demonstration and follows wins by opposition pro-democracy parties over Lam and her allies in local elections.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The purpose of the duty visit is to give a full account of what has happened in Hong Kong over the past year,” Lam said in a press briefing on Tuesday. “Particularly what has happened in Hong Kong in the last six months.”
Lam’s conversations in Beijing are also to focus on how Hong Kong and the central government can cooperate on national-level plans, including China’s global Belt and Road Initiative and integrating the territory into a so-called Greater Bay Area with nearby mainland cities, she said.
Meanwhile, five Hong Kong teenagers have been arrested in connection with the death of a man hit on the head by a brick during clashes between pro and anti-government protesters last month, police said.
The three males and two females aged 15 to 18 were arrested on Friday on suspicion of murder, rioting and wounding, and had been detained pending further investigation, police said in a statement.
Footage of the event showed rival groups of protesters throwing bricks at each other, during which a man was hit by a brick.
The 70-year-old was rushed to hospital unconscious and certified dead the following day.
Additional reporting by AFP
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