Hong Kong Special District Chief Carrie Lam denied that she would be replaced, calling it "very malicious" information.

Ahead of today's City Council meeting, Lam stressed that the Financial Times "was very toxic and could promote political speculation". The London-based newspaper last week reported that Beijing was considering plans to replace Lam with an interim special chief in March 2020, after her administration failed to stamp out months-long protests. by.

"The central government is very supportive and always believes that I, myself, my political team, the Hong Kong special government and especially the police force, can handle the situation and end it. violence, bringing Hong Kong back to normal as soon as possible, "Lam said, citing assertions from China's Foreign Ministry last week.

Protests against a revised extradition bill in Hong Kong broke out in early June. The bill allows Hong Kong to bring suspects to trial in jurisdictions where the city has not had an extradition treaty, including mainland China. The protests were mild at first but later increasingly violent when protesters clashed with police. Lam's government in September announced a complete withdrawal of the extradition bill, but the move could not appease protesters.

Her credit rating for Lam fell to a record low in early October, when only 15% expressed confidence in her performance, according to the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute.

Ms. Lam repeatedly expressed she understood the feelings of the protesters but could not participate in political dialogue until the violence eased, and pledged to listen and change policies. "The first thing is to prevent violence," the Hong Kong chief said.