Adviser to Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam does not believe she has completely ruled out independent inquiry into police
- Executive Council member Ronny Tong says he does not believe chief executive has closed door on possibility
- But comments come only hours after Lam rejected multiple demands for investigation into officers’ conduct during protests
An adviser to Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has suggested she has not ruled out an independent inquiry into police conduct during the ongoing protests but a government source said there had been no change in her position.
It was unlikely that a commission of inquiry (COI) would be set up soon, the source said, as the government’s views had not changed, even though nearly half of the participants at her first community dialogue pleaded with Lam to do so.
The source said the government’s stance was that it was best to leave any grievances against the force to the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC).
Even as the source stressed Lam was sticking to her guns, analysts and lawmakers across the spectrum said that while the first dialogue had got off to a calm and rational start, there could be a backlash if she was seen to be only listening without responding in a positive way.
But Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member of Lam’s de facto cabinet, the Executive Council, suggested she was not immovable on the idea of a COI, during a radio interview on Friday.
