Hong Kong's deeply unpopular leader Carrie Lam acknowledged Tuesday that public dissatisfaction with her government fuelled a landslide win by pro-democracy candidates in local elections, but offered no new concessions to resolve months of violent protests.
In China, state media sought to downplay and discredit the weekend ballot that delivered a stinging rebuke to the financial hub's pro-Beijing establishment in what was widely seen as a referendum on Lam's handling of the unrest.
The city's chief executive pledged to "improve governance" in the wake of the district council elections, which she acknowledged revealed concern over "deficiencies in the government, including unhappiness with the time taken to deal with the current unstable environment."