The leader of Hong Kong insisted today that she would not resign and denied that the police had operated with brutality during the pro-democracy demonstrations that erupted in the summer. Carrie Lam, 62, told parliament in the former British colony that she would not launch an independent investigation into the behaviour of the police as pro-democracy MPs were thrown out of the chamber for heckling, swearing at her and asking when she was going to die. Her statement to parliament was the bluntest rebuttal of protesters’ demands, which included her resignation and an inquiry. She accused critics of trying to smear the police. “I’ve only seen police keeping public order in the past seven months,” Ms Lam said during the 90-minute question-and-answer session.

Source: The Times January 16, 2020 12:09 UTC