Hong Kong. Executive leader worries about escalating violence

Carrie Lam, whose resignation is demanded by the protesters, spoke for the first time after clashes between protesters and police last weekend. A situation of growing concern, according to her.

Head of Hong Kong Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that the escalation of violence during the anti-government protests that have shaken the former British colony for the last three months is of growing concern.

Carrie Lam, whose resignation is demanded by the protesters, was speaking for the first time since the clashes between protesters and law enforcement officials who staked rallies held last weekend.

She said she trusted the local government's ability to handle the crisis itself and again called for a dialogue.

But Lam said it was not a good time to set up an independent commission to investigate the protests, one of the main demands of the protest movement.

Three months of protest

Hong Kong police arrested 86 people, including several minors, the youngest aged 12, after the clashes over the weekend. She used water cannons and tear gas to repel the demonstrators who were throwing Molotov cocktails. Twenty-one policemen were wounded in the violence, authorities said.

Born in April after the rejection of a bill that would have allowed the extradition of suspects to Mainland China, the protest movement has expanded since June to broader demands, including the protection of freedoms and the autonomy enjoyed by the former British colony since its return to China in 1997.

Many Hong Kongese believe that this particular system, summarized by the formula "one country, two systems" , is today threatened by the growing influence exercised by the Chinese central government.

The challenge, which also weighs on the economic activity of the territory, is an unprecedented challenge for Chinese President Xi Jinping since taking office in 2012.

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