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Hong Kong Leader Denies Resignation Talks With Beijing

Suzanne Sataline

   HONG KONG - Hong Kong's struggling chief executive has denied that she
   discussed resigning with Chinese officials amid growing pro-democracy
   protests, despite having been heard in a leaked audio recording saying
   she would step down if she had a choice.

   In the recording, obtained by Reuters, Carrie Lam told a group of
   business leaders last week that she had caused "a huge havoc" when she
   introduced a controversial extradition bill that sparked the protests.
   In the [1]recording, which is available online, she tells the group,
   "If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit, having made a deep
   apology, is to step down."

   Protest leaders took the remarks to mean that officials in Beijing
   would not permit her to resign. But Lam told reporters Tuesday she "had
   not even contemplated" discussing a resignation with Chinese leaders.
   When asked specifically if Beijing was stopping her from resigning, Lam
   said she has "never tendered a resignation to the central people's
   government."

   Nevertheless, many Hong Kong residents said the recording confirmed
   what political scientists and protesters have long believed -- that
   despite Hong Kong's separate constitution, Beijing runs the city.

   "It confirms the image she's a puppet," said Ma Ngok, an associate
   professor of government at Chinese University of Hong Kong. "I don't
   think she earns much more sympathy."

References

   1. https://www.scmp.com/video/hong-kong/3025554/leaked-audio-recording-hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-appears-say-she-would

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