Hong Kong's embattled leader abandoned a State of the Union-style speech on Wednesday after she was heckled by rowdy opposition lawmakers during chaotic scenes inside the city's legislature.

The speech by chief executive Carrie Lam was billed as an attempt to win hearts and minds after four months of seething pro-democracy protests.

But it instead laid bare the intense polarisation coursing through the semi-autonomous financial hub after weeks of huge and increasingly violent rallies.

Lam, who has historic low approval ratings, tried twice to begin her policy address inside the Legislative Council which had opened for a new session some three months after it was trashed by masked protesters.

But pro-democracy lawmakers, a minority of the pro-Beijing stacked legislature, shouted her down.

One used a projector to broadcast protest slogans behind Lam as she stood on the podium, and later donned a face mask of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Lam instead released a pre-recorded video, the first time a Hong Kong leader has been unable to deliver the annual address in person since the tradition began in 1948.

In it, she announced plans to increase housing and land supply in a city that has one of the least affordable property markets in the world, as well as various subsidies.

"I firmly believe that Hong Kong will be able to ride out this storm and move on," she said.

But the announcement gave no concessions to protesters and was quickly dismissed by pro-democracy advocates.

"So much has happened on Hong Kong's streets over the past four months but Lam has been either hiding in her abyss or acting like a wax figure," pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan told reporters.

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Regina Ip criticised her opponents for forcing Lam from the podium.

"I think that my pan-democrat colleagues insulting, screaming, jumping onto the desk to prevent the Chief Executive from delivering the policy address is shameful and should be condemned," she told AFP.

- 'Following Beijing's instructions' -

Willy Lam, a politics expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said Lam's speech would do little to quell protests which are fuelled by years of anger over sliding freedoms and the inability of Hong Kongers to elect their own leaders.

"Carrie Lam is following instructions from Beijing," he told AFP.

"Even the economic handouts do not seem to be particularly impressive and they take will take a few years to actually materialise."

Millions have taken to the streets of Hong Kong, initially against a now-dropped bid by its leaders to allow extraditions to the authoritarian Chinese mainland.

But after Beijing and Lam took a hardline the movement snowballed into a broader push for democracy and police accountability.

Activists say freedoms are being eroded by Beijing, contrary to a deal that outlined Hong Kong's 1997 return to China from British colonial rule.

Protesters have said they will only end their huge rallies if core demands are met, including an independent inquiry into the police, an amnesty for the more than 2,500 people arrested and universal suffrage.

Both Lam and Beijing have repeatedly dismissed those demands and say Hong Kong's freedoms are being protected.

Lam's speech comes after the US House of Representatives passed a bill late Tuesday that aims to defend civil rights in Hong Kong and has drawn rare bipartisan support in a polarised Congress.

China, which has accused "external forces" of fuelling weeks of unrest in the city, expressed its "strong indignation" over the bill and told Washington to "stop meddling".

The Hong Kong Rights and Democracy Act would link the city's special trading status with the United States to an annual State Department certification that authorities are respecting human rights and the rule of law.

It would also require the US president to identify and sanction the people responsible for the erosion of autonomy and serious abuses of human rights in Hong Kong.

The House also approved a related bill to prohibit the export of certain non-lethal crowd control items such as tear gas to Hong Kong.

US House passes Hong Kong 'Democracy Act'
Washington (AFP) Oct 16, 2019 - The US House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday sought by pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong that aims to defend civil rights in the semi-autonomous territory, prompting an angry response from China.

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which will now move to the Senate before it can become law, has drawn rare bipartisan support in a polarized Congress.

The law would end the Hong Kong-US special trading status unless the State Department certifies annually that city authorities are respecting human rights and the rule of law.

China expressed "strong indignation" over the passing of the act, which also requires the US president to identify and sanction people who are responsible for the erosion of autonomy and serious abuses of human rights in Hong Kong.

"What Hong Kong faces is not the so-called human rights and democracy issue at all, but the issue of stopping violence, reinstating order and upholding the rule of law as soon as possible," said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang in a statement.

Geng said the US should "stop meddling" and warned China would take "strong measures" to counter the proposed Hong Kong bill.

The act will now move to a similar vote in the Senate before it can become law.

"Today we're simply urging the Chinese president and the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, to faithfully honor the government's promises" that Hong Kong's rights and autonomy would be protected, Republican Representative Chris Smith, prime sponsor of the bill, said Tuesday on the House floor.

- 'External forces' -

China has frequently accused "external forces" of fuelling weeks of unrest in the global financial hub.

Millions have taken to the streets of Hong Kong, initially against a now-dropped bid by its leaders to allow extraditions to the authoritarian Chinese mainland.

The months-long movement has expanded into a broader pro-democracy push in the territory where activists say freedoms are being eroded by Beijing, despite being written into a deal the deal that governed Hong Kong's 1997 transfer to China from British colonial rule.

"The House just sent a strong message to the people of Hong Kong: We stand with you in the fight for democracy and justice," said Ben Ray Lujan, a House Democrat.

Republican House member Mario Diaz-Balart said the Act ensures "that the special relationship with Hong Kong endures only as long as Hong Kong retains the autonomy and freedoms that justify that special relationship."

The House also approved, by a similar voice vote, a related bill to prohibit the export of certain non-lethal crowd control items such as tear gas to Hong Kong.

Amnesty International has accused the city's officers of using excessive force, although the police say they have exercised restraint.

A separate house resolution called on the Hong Kong government to begin negotiations to address the demonstrators' demands, which include universal suffrage and an independent probe into police conduct.

Prominent Hong Kong activists testified before a congressional hearing last month in support of the legislation approved by the House on Tuesday.

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