Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor meets the press ahead of an Executive Council meeting in Hong Kong on Aug 27, 2019. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday the government would spare no effort to establish a platform for dialogue with all people of Hong Kong, regardless of their political backgrounds, in order to find a way out of the political impasse.

Speaking to the media before the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam emphasized that the initiative should not be seen as condoning the violence that escalated in protests over the weekend. In fact, the government has zero tolerance for violence regardless of the circumstances and political motives, and it is committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice, she said.

Starting a dialogue does not mean we should condone violence. Just imagine under the pretext of communication, we will tolerate all forms of violence in Hong Kong

Carrie Lam, Chief Executive, Hong Kong

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“Starting a dialogue does not mean we should condone violence. Just imagine under the pretext of communication, we will tolerate all forms of violence in Hong Kong. That would be the end of the rule of law in Hong Kong,” Lam said.

Lam’s remarks came after she and top government officials engaged in talks with different groups of people on two occasions in the past few days - one with highprofile community leaders, and the other with mainly youth representatives. Lam declined to disclose details of the talks or identify the participants. But the CE did say that she had reiterated the reasons behind the government’s objection to establishing an independent commission of inquiry, which is one of the protesters’ key demands.

The city just endured the 12th weekend of violent protests against the nowabandoned extradition bill. Radical protesters recklessly attacked police officers with gasoline bombs, metal rods and bricks at multiple locations in Kowloon, and sabotaged 20 sets of multifunctional lampposts that were part of the government’s smart city project.

Saying she was saddened by the radical acts, Lam reiterated that violence is never the answer to any problem and it could not be justified for any reason. Noting that schools will be open soon, Lam strongly denounced protesters’ harassment of police officers’ families, especially their schoolage children.

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“For the families of my police colleagues, I just could not see the association of the protests and the protesters’ demands with the harassment of police families,” Lam said.

“And I hope every one of us, the education sector especially, takes into mind the bullying and harassment of children. And not just those in police families, but children everywhere,” she added.