HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s unpopular leader Carrie Lam said on Monday her government would “listen humbly” to the public after voters dealt a humiliating election setback to the Beijing-backed establishment she heads.
“The government will certainly listen humbly to citizens’ opinions and reflect on them seriously,” she said in a statement issued by the government.
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp scored a crushing victory in community-level elections held on Sunday, a result that made clear the level of public support for the demands of a protest movement that has thrown the territory into turmoil.
In a rout that stunned the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, candidates favoring greater democracy seized an overwhelming majority of the 452 seats in the city’s 18 district councils.
The councils have historically been firmly in the grip of the Beijing-aligned establishment.
The protest movement has several key demands including direct popular elections and a probe into alleged police brutality, and the result may bring new pressure on Lam to meet them.
She has previously rejected the demands as “wishful thinking” and repeatedly suggested the ballot would show most Hong Kongers supported her administration and an end to the protests.
“The government respects the election results,” Lam said.
She also acknowledged that the result has sparked discussion of the fact “citizens are dissatisfied with the current social situation and ... deep-seated problems,” without going into details.
The unrest erupted earlier this year when Lam’s government introduced a bill that would have allowed extraditions to China’s opaque judicial system.
It was later withdrawn but the anger it unleashed triggered a wider movement for change that brought millions into the streets and saw violent clashes between police and protesters.
Hong Kong leader vows to ‘listen humbly’ after shock poll result
Hong Kong leader vows to ‘listen humbly’ after shock poll result
- ‘The government will certainly listen humbly to citizens’ opinions and reflect on them seriously’
- Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp scored a crushing victory in community-level elections held on Sunday
Afghan government says Pakistan strikes Kabul and border provinces
- A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Pakistan struck overnight
- Islamabad last month launched a wave of air strikes on its neighbor, an operation it says is targeting militancy
KABUL: Afghan authorities said on Friday that Pakistan had carried out new strikes on Kabul and border provinces, killing four people in the capital.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Pakistan struck overnight, adding their forces targeted the Pakistani Taliban militant group, known as TTP.
Islamabad last month launched a wave of air strikes on its neighbor, an operation it says is targeting militancy following growing attacks in Pakistan.
But the Taliban government has denied any involvement or the use of Afghan territory for militancy.
Khalil Zadran, the spokesman for Kabul police, said four people had been killed and 15 wounded in the bombardment that hit homes in the capital, with women and children among the victims.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X that Pakistani strikes also hit the southern province of Kandahar, as well as eastern Paktia and Paktika, which border Pakistan.
In Kandahar, which is home to the administration’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, air strikes hit a fuel depot for airline Kam Air, near the airport.
This company supplies fuel to civilian airlines and United Nations aircraft.
Pakistan insists it has not killed any civilians in the conflict. Casualty claims from both sides are difficult to verify independently.
Afghan and Pakistani forces have also clashed repeatedly at the border in recent weeks, hampering trade and forcing nearby residents to leave their homes.
‘Open war’
The United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has said that 56 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan, including 24 children, by Pakistani military operations between February 26 and March 5.
About 115,000 people were forced to leave their homes, according to the UN refugee agency.
Fighting between the two countries intensified on February 26, when Afghanistan launched an offensive along the frontier, in retaliation for earlier Pakistani air strikes targeting the TTP.
Pakistan then declared “open war” against the Taliban authorities, bombing the capital, Kabul, on February 27.
Since then, clashes have increased in border regions, including overnight Wednesday to Thursday that the Afghan authorities said killed four members of the same family in Khost province.
The Taliban government said on Thursday that four members of the same family, including two children, were killed by Pakistani artillery and mortar fire in eastern Afghanistan.
Seven people had been killed in Afghanistan since Tuesday as a result of cross-border clashes between the two sides, according to the authorities in Kabul.
Deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the latest deaths happened early Thursday in the village of Sadqo in Khost province, accusing Pakistan of deliberately targeting civilian homes and nomads’ tents.
