A secret recording of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive.
She says she the first thing she would do is quit...
*if* she had a choice.
And now she’s withdrawing the controversial extradition bill
that sparked the Hong Kong protests.
But is it too little, too late?
Welcome back to China Uncensored.
I’m Chris Chappell.
I have some advice for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam:
If you propose a bill that’s so unpopular,
a quarter of the city comes out to protest;
and if you refuse to answer to any of the protesters’ demands;
and if you become so hated that
you have to physically hide from the public;
then I suggest you ought to deal with public discontent
as swiftly as possible—
and not wait nearly three months.
But better late than never, some would say.
Because on Wednesday, Carrie Lam finally—finally!—
announced that she would withdraw the extradition bill
that could send criminal suspects to mainland China for trial.
“The government will formally withdraw the bill
in order to fully allay public concerns.”
Unfortunately, this does *not* fully allay public concerns.
It might have, had she withdrawn it
immediately after after a million people
protested back on June 9.
But now, the Hong Kong people are upset
over a pretty wide range of things.
Like police violence against protesters.
That’s why the protesters have five key demands
for the Hong Kong government.
So with only one of those demands met,
it’s just not enough for most protesters.
Also, the timing is a little odd.
Lam withdrew the extradition bill just days after
a secret recording of her was leaked to the public.
The recording came from a private talk she gave
last week at a luncheon.
I’m going to play the whole four-minute recording for you—
because it’s a fascinating glimpse
into what Carrie Lam is actually thinking.
"I don't want to spend your time,
or waste your time,
for you to ask me what went wrong, and why it went wrong.
But for a chief executive to have caused
this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable.
It's just unforgivable.
If I have a choice,
the first thing (I would do) is to quit,
having made a deep apology is to step down.
So I make a plea to you for your forgiveness."
"I'll be very honest with you,
it would be naïve for me to paint you a rosy picture,
that things will be fine or I have a deadline.
But I can assure you that Beijing does not have a deadline.
They know this will ripple on.
So we have made special arrangements
and there will be a first of October national day celebrations
but still having a lot of disruptions,
so we are going for a modest,
but solemn type of celebrations on the first of October
which means that they (Beijing) and ourselves
have no expectations that we could clear out this thing
before the first of October.
Another thing I want to assure you,
that is my own feeling the pulse and through discussions,
CPG has absolutely no plan to send in the PLA."
"But the first...
of course I'm sure that in your hearts you will feel,
and I'm sure a large number of people
feel that I do have a solution,
that is a political one.
But I have to tell you that this
is where the crux of the matter lies.
Once an issue has been elevated to a national level,
to a sort of sovereignty and security level,
let alone in the midst of this sort of unprecedented tension
between the two big economies in the world.
The room, the political room for the chief executive who,
unfortunately, has to serve two masters by constitution,
that is the central people's government
and the people of Hong Kong,
that political room for maneuvering
is very, very, very limited."
"They care about the country's international profile.
It has taken China a long time to build up to
that sort of international profile
and to have some say, not only being a big economy
but a responsible big economy,
so to forsake all those positive developments
is clearly not on their agenda.
But they're willing to play long,
they are willing to play long,
so you have no short term solution,
Hong Kong suffers, you lose tourism, economy,
you lose your IPOs and so, but you can't do much about it,
but after everything has been settled the country
will be there to help with maybe positive measures
especially in the Greater Bay Area."
"Nowadays it's extremely difficult for me to go out.
I have not been on the streets,
not in the shopping malls,
can't go to a hair salon,
can't do anything because my whereabouts will be
spread around the social media,
on telegram and LIHKG,
and you could expect a big crowd of black T-shirts
and black masked young people waiting for me."
There’s a lot to unpack there.
One, she said the first thing she would do is quit,
if she had a choice,
but she does not—implying that the higher-ups won’t let her.
Two, she said that the Central People’s Government
has no plans to send in the People’s Liberation Army.
Instead, they’re willing to play the long game,
and let Hong Kong’s economy suffer as the protests drag on.
Of course, Lam said that partly based on “feeling the pulse,”
and I’m not sure I’d bet on her ability
to feel the pulse of anything,
including at this point, herself.
Three, she admits out loud that her hands are tied
because she has to “serve two masters,”
the Chinese Communist Party and the people of Hong Kong.
Although really, we all know which master really counts.
And four, she can’t even go to the hair salon
because those protesters would be waiting,
so life is pretty tough for Carrie Lam.
Now after this audio was leaked to the public,
she did what any self-respecting politician would do:
She held a press conference to deny the whole thing.
This is what she said on Tuesday:
“I have never, I have never tendered a resignation
to the Central People’s Government.
I have not even contemplated to discuss a resignation
with the Central People's Government.
The choice of not resigning is my own choice.”
That’s a brilliantly worded denial.
It can be technically true,
that she ever tendered a resignation.
While also being totally misleading,
because she might have never tendered a resignation
because she had already been told not to.
When a reporter tried to question her on the specifics of that,
she did what any self-respecting politician would do:
She denied it again, and walked away.
“Your answer does not arise.
I have never tendered any resignation.”
But you have to feel *a little* bad for Carrie Lam.
Not because she can’t get her hair done.
But it is pretty hard to say that
you didn’t say the things that you did say,
when someone publishes the audio of you saying those things.
On the other hand, the leaked audio
might not be so bad for Lam.
Sure, it shows that she’s the helpless puppet
of the Chinese Communist Party.
But since she’s not calling the shots,
she can wriggle out of the ultimate responsibility.
And this also illustrates a larger problem that Hong Kong faces.
The people can protest all they want.
And they do.
And Carrie Lam can even eventually give in to
one of the protesters’ five key demands:
withdrawing the extradition bill.
But it’s not enough.
Because ultimately,
all the key decisions being made about Hong Kong
are not in the hands of the Hong Kong government.
The decisions are being made by Beijing.
But if the Chinese Communist Party thinks that
withdrawing the bill is going to be enough to stop the protests,
then they’re not “feeling the pulse” of the protesters.
Especially because Lam did not agree to
an independent investigation into police brutality—
something that’s angered protesters
and ordinary Hongkongers the most.
But don’t worry!
After Hong Kong police chased protesters into the MTR,
beating and pepper spraying anyone
who happened to be on the trains...
wrestled a protester to the ground until he passed out…
and then chased and tackled students on a playground...
Beijing knows exactly what to do.
Yes, they’re talking about outlawing masks for protesters.
And punishing teachers for “heinous crimes.”
And introducing “patriotic education” into Hong Kong schools.
It’s not like trying to do that in 2012 led to citywide protests.
Yes, the Chinese Communist Party has got this handled.
So what do you think?
Leave your comments below.
And now it’s time to answer a question from a fan
who helps us keep making controversial episodes like this,
through supporting us on the crowdfunding website Patreon:
Ben asks:
Have there been any attempts by the CCP,
whether cyber attack’s or other means,
to shut down or limit the protestor’s use of telegram
or other communications means?
Good question, Ben.
And the answer is: Yes.
They’ve tried to hack Telegram.
And they’ve almost certainly had agents
trying to monitor all the chats.
But that being said,
there’s not much they can do when Hong Kong
still has a free press and open internet.
Of course, there’s a solution to *that*:
The Emergency Regulations Ordinance of 1922.
That would give the Hong Kong Chief Executive broad powers,
including the power to completely censor the press—
and probably the internet as well.
But it’s such a nuclear option that they’re unlikely to use it.
At least right now.
Thanks for your question, Ben.
And thank you to everyone watching.
Be like Ben, and support China Uncensored
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Click the orange square button on the next screen to learn more.
Once again, I’m Chris Chappell.
See you next time.