Hong Kong legislator: Protesters tried to topple us
Regina Ip says many of the protesters in recent years aimed to overthrow the government
The 2019 mass protests in Hong Kong against a bill that allowed extraditions to China were actually about 鈥榬egime change鈥� for many, a senior pro-Beijing politician told the 大象传媒. Regina Ip, Convenor of Hong Kong鈥檚 Executive Council, said that the demands of the protesters 鈥榳ere not simply democracy鈥any of them were actually asking for regime change.鈥�
Speaking to the HARDtalk programme from Hong Kong, Ms Ip said of the protests, the biggest in Hong Kong鈥檚 history: 鈥楾hey were asking things that would not be achievable and would not be accepted by any government like amnesty; granting an amnesty to all those who broke the law.鈥�
Stephen Sackur challenged Ms Ip about the popularity of a new National Security Law in Hong Kong, saying that if people could protest then they would, as they did in 2003 when she tried to introduce a similar bill that had to be shelved because of the backlash. Ms Ip responded that after the protests in 2019, 鈥榓 lot of people said to me they should have supported enacting the bill that I championed back in 2003 because I would have created the offence of secession and subversion and gave the government the legislative tools to deal with those violent protestors.鈥�
When challenged by Stephen Sackur that protesters were demanding democracy and genuine political autonomy, not secession from China, she said that 鈥榮ome of them did call for Hong Kong鈥檚 independence and they did try to topple the Hong Kong government.鈥� Ultimately, Ms Ip said, 鈥榯here is no promise of democracy鈥� in the agreement signed by Britain and China during the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong鈥檚 current Chief Executive John Lee has said the territory will attempt to introduce its own National Security Law this year.
