CHIEF Executive of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said yesterday that she had never tendered a resignation to the Central Government.

“I said on several occasions previously and also reaffirmed by my colleagues in the Chief Executive Office in response to media inquiry, that throughout this period, that is from the very beginning till now, I have never tendered a resignation to the Central Government,” Lam said at a regular press conference.

“I have not even contemplated to discuss a resignation to the Central Government,” she said.

Stressing that the choice of not resigning was her “own choice,” Lam said that though it might be “an easy choice to leave,” it had remained her position that she and her team should stay on to serve the people of Hong Kong and help Hong Kong in a difficult situation.

“I know it is not going to be an easy path, and that is why I said that I’ve not given myself the choice to take an easier path, that is to leave,” said Lam.

“I’d rather stay on and walk this path together with my team and the people of Hong Kong,” she added.

Meanwhile, Lam said that the primary goal for the HKSAR Government is to stop the violence.

To achieve the goal, the rule of law must be upheld to handle illegal acts, said Lam, adding that dialogue with all walks of life in Hong Kong, especially with the young generation, is the best way to change the antagonism within the Hong Kong society.

Meanwhile, an official in Beijing said yesterday that the Central Government supports Lam in working with Hong Kong people to address deep-rooted economic and social issues.

Yang Guang, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, told a press conference that the unrest reflects some deep-rooted problems in Hong Kong, which demand high attention and require effective measures to tackle.

The Central Government supports efforts of Lam and her administration to continue discussing solutions with people from all walks of life, including the young people, through dialogue, Yang said.

The social problems such as expensive housing, big wealth gap and stagnation of social mobility, which concern ordinary Hong Kong people and particularly young people, have formed over a long period of time and are caused by many complicated factors, he said.

“Hong Kong needs constructive dialogues,” he said.

Yang called on Hong Kong people to pool their wisdom, reach consensus and find solutions so that the rage in society will give way to peace.

The Central Government will unswervingly implement the principle of “one country, two systems” and the Basic Law and continue supporting Hong Kong’s efforts to develop its economy, improve people’s livelihoods and enable all the people to share the benefits of development, he said.

(Xinhua)