The Boston Globe - 17.10.2019

A6 TheWorld The Boston Globe THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019

By Javier C. Hernández

NEW YORK TIMES

HONG KONG — Prodemoc-

racy lawmakers drove Hong

Kong’s embattled leader, Carrie

Lam, from the legislative cham-

ber Wednesday as she prepared

to make a speech outlining poli-

cy ideas for dealing with Hong

Kong’s roiling crisis.

As Lam took her place at the

chamber’s lectern to deliver her

annual policy address, lawmak-

ers repeatedly jeered and shout-

ed at her, demanding her resig-

nation. After two failed at-

tempts, Lam retreated, and she

later delivered the speech by

video from a protected location.

Lam, who is under pressure

from China’s central govern-

ment to put an end to the in-

creasingly violent protests that

have gone on for more than

four months, showed no signs

of compromise in her address.

“Any acts that advocate

Hong Kong’s independence and

threaten the country’s sover-

eignty, security, and develop-

ment interests will not be toler-

ated,” she said.

Prodemocracy lawmakers

had reacted with anger to Lam’s

presence before she even said a

word. When she entered the

chamber, they played a record-

ing of high-pitched screams

and the firing of tear gas to

evoke the protests. As they

shouted, the image of a central

protest movement slogan, “Five

demands, not one less!” was

suddenly projected onto the

stage. Lam stood silently at the

lectern before retreating.

“Please step down,” a prode-

mocracy lawmaker, Tanya

Chan, said after Lam retreated.

“This is the only way we can

have a good future.”

Lam used her address to an-

nounce a series of measures

aimed at tackling long-held eco-

nomic grievances in Hong

Kong, including rising inequali-

ty and the high cost of living.

She said she would work to re-

claim private land to build

more public housing.

But she avoided addressing

the political demands of the

protesters, such as an investiga-

tion of the police’s use of force

and a call for free elections, that

are at the center of the territo-

ry’s worst crisis in decades.

The protests have quickly

morphed into the most direct

challenge to Communist Party

rule in decades. Many people in

Hong Kong, a former British

colony that is now a semiauton-

omous territory, perceive Lam’s

administration as more behold-

en to the Chinese central gov-

ernment than to the city’s 7.

million people.

Protesters had gathered out-

side government offices before

the speech to express their frus-

tration and call for Lam’s resig-

nation. Many said that they

were interested in political re-

form, not economic relief, and

that they would not rest until

the government met their de-

mands.

“She’s just out here to say

something shallow to the peo-

ple,” said Lee Chi-Wa, an elec-

trician. “Hong Kongers have no

expectations left for her.”

The legislative chamber

where Lam briefly stood was it-

self a reminder of one of the

protest movement’s most dra-

matic escalations.

On July 1, the anniversary of

Hong Kong’s return to Chinese

rule, demonstrators smashed

their way into the offices, then

defaced the room in which Lam

tried to speak Wednesday. The

protests, which began in June

in opposition to a contentious

bill that would have allowed ex-

traditions to mainland China,

are in their 19th week.

Clashes between the police

and demonstrators have turned

increasingly violent. The shoot-

ing of a protester on China’s Na-

tional Day this month, and

Lam’s subsequent use of emer-

gency powers to ban the wear-

ing of face masks at protests,

have further fueled the anger.

By Daniel Victor

NEW YORK TIMES

It was a striking scene, of the

leader of a nuclear-armed na-

tion astride his majestic horse.

The North Korean dictator,

Kim Jong Un, rode the white

steed through snowy fields, gal-

loping between dusted trees,

pausing for an aw-shucks-I’m-

on-a-horse smile at the camera.

His servants in the state media

said Wednesday that his eyes

“were full of noble glitters.”

While Kim has no shortage

of obviously posed propaganda

photos, “world leaders on

horseback” has been a very spe-

cial genre at least since Vladi-

mir Putin’s famous bare-chest-

ed entry in 2009. This doesn’t

come along every day.

The geopolitical impact of

the news was limited. Unless,

that is, you trust the North Ko-

rean state media, which called

Kim’s horseback ride up Mount

Baekdu “a great event of

weighty importance in the his-

tory of the Korean revolution.”

Mount Baekdu is considered

a sacred mountain laden with

symbolism, the mythical birth-

place of the Koreans. A volcano

that straddles the Chinese and

North Korean border — the

Chinese call it Changbaishan —

it is a central setting for North

Korean propaganda, a place

where soldiers are sent on pil-

grimages to swear loyalty to

their leader. North Korea insists

that Kim’s father and predeces-

sor, Kim Jong Il, was born in a

log cabin there, despite proof

that he was born elsewhere.

Kim has visited Mount

Baekdu before making major

decisions, giving rise to specu-

lation that this latest trek could

portend a shift in policy toward

the United States. An attempt

to revive denuclearization talks

between the two countries

broke down this month.

“Having witnessed the great

moments of his thinking atop

Mount Paektu, all the officials

accompanying him were con-

vinced with overflowing emo-

tion and joy that there will be a

great operation to strike the

world with wonder again and

make a step forward in the Ko-

rean revolution,” reported the

North Korean state news agen-

cy, which spells Baekdu that

way.

Although Kim chose not to

go full Putin, keeping his torso

covered with a parka in the

cold, he is part of a somewhat

exclusive club of current world

leaders to have been photo-

graphed on a horse.

That club includes Justin

Trudeau of Canada. Yep, Boris

Johnson, the British prime

minister, saddled up. President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Tur-

key fell off a horse in 2003 but

was back on one 14 years later.

Other confirmed riders include

Narendra Modi of India, Joko

Widodo of Indonesia, and An-

drés Manuel López Obrador of

Mexico.

Kim’s king of the mountain moment

N.Korealeader

rideshorseback,

spursspeculation

Jeering lawmakers disrupt

Hong Kong leader’s speech

Forcehertogive

annualaddress

viaremotevideo

MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

A legislator stood on a desk to protest as Hong Kong Chief

Executive Carrie Lam tried to deliver a speech Wednesday.

OPEN HOUSE

Sunday, October 20th, 11am – 1pm

The Newman School

Coed college preparatory grades 7–12 in

the Back Bay. Small class sizes, quality

college acceptances, vibrant sports program.

InternationalBaccalaureatediplomaoption.

For more information, please contact

Patricia Lynch, Ph.D., Director of Admission.

[email protected]

247 Marlborough Street, Boston, MA • (617) 267-4530 • newmanboston.org

Get the Best of Both W

Competitive CD rates and a fully insured acc

*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) as of October 10, 2019. 100 Day CD requires a minimum balance of

$50,000 to earn stated APY. 6 Month CD requires a minimum balance of $2,500 to earn stated

APY. Rates subject to change. Fees and early withdrawal penalties could reduce earnings.

Please open at NeedhamBank.com/CD or visit your local bra

6 Month CD 100 Day CD

%

APY 2.

%

APY

Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender Member SIF

833-422-

Worlds

count

nch

SHELBURNE FARM

FRESH FRUIT AND HEALTHY FAMILY FUN!

Just 20 miles

from Boston

106 W. Acton Rd., Stow, MA

Pick Your Own

Apples & Pumpkins

978-897-

Shelburnefarm.com

Live Music & Grill Weekends

Warm Cider Donuts • Caramel Apples

• Farm Store • Hayrides
  Weekends: Pedal Tractors • Hay Mountain


• Mini Haymaze • Farm Animals


• Moon Bounce • Ice Cream