Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she has caused "unforgivable havoc" by igniting the political crisis engulfing the city and would quit if she had a choice, according to an audio recording of remarks she made last week to a group of business people.

Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she has caused "unforgivable havoc" by igniting the political crisis engulfing the city and would quit if she had a choice, according to an audio recording of remarks she made last week to a group of business people. At the closed-door meeting, Lam told the group that she now has "very limited" room to resolve the crisis because the unrest has become a national security and sovereignty issue for China amid rising tensions with the United States. "If I have a choice," she said, speaking in English, "the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology." Lam's dramatic and at times anguished remarks offer the clearest view yet into the thinking of the Chinese leadership as it navigates the unrest in Hong Kong, the biggest political crisis to grip the country since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Hong Kong has been convulsed by sometimes violent protests and mass demonstrations since June, in response to a proposed law by Lam's administration that would allow people suspected of crimes on the mainland to be extradited to face trial in Chinese courts. The law has been shelved, but Lam has been unable to end the upheaval. Protesters have expanded their demands to include complete withdrawal of the proposal, a concession her administration has so far refused. Large demonstrations wracked the city again over the weekend. Lam suggested that Beijing had not yet reached a turning point. She said Beijing had not imposed any deadline for ending the crisis ahead of National Day celebrations scheduled for October 1. And she said China had "absolutely no plan" to deploy People's Liberation Army troops on Hong Kong streets. World leaders have been closely watching whether China will send in the military to quell the protests, as it did a generation ago in the bloody Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing. Lam noted, however, that she had few options once an issue had been elevated "to a national level," a reference to the leadership in Beijing, "to a sort of sovereignty and security level, let alone in the midst of this sort of unprecedented tension between the two big economies in the world." In such a situation, she added, "the room, the political room for the chief executive who, unfortunately, has to serve two masters by constitution, that is the central people's government and the people of Hong Kong, that political room for manoeuvring is very, very, very limited." Three people who attended the meeting confirmed that Lam had made the comments in a talk that lasted about half an hour. The meeting was one of a number of "closed-door sessions" that Lam said she has been doing "with people from all walks of life" in Hong Kong. A spokesman for Lam said she attended two events last week that included business people, and that both were effectively private. "We are therefore not in a position to comment on what the Chief Executive has said at those events," the spokesman said. China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, a high-level agency under China's cabinet, the State Council, did not respond to questions submitted by Reuters. China's State Council Information Office did not immediately respond to questions.

Hong Kong leader says she would 'quit' if she could, fears her ability to resolve crisis now 'very limited'

Thousands of Hong Kong university and school students boycotted class and rallied peacefully for democracy on Monday, the latest acts of defiance in an anti-government movement that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis.

Thousands of Hong Kong university and school students boycotted class and rallied peacefully for democracy on Monday, the latest acts of defiance in an anti-government movement that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis. The boycott followed a weekend marred by some of the worst violence since unrest escalated more than three months ago, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs, and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons. Thousands of students gathered on the hilltop campus of Chinese University under leaden skies, taking turns to make speeches from a stage with a black backdrop embossed with "Students in Unity Boycott for our City". They are seeking greater democracy for the former British colony which returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that guarantees wide-ranging autonomy, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary. There fear those freedoms are being slowly eroded by Communist Party rulers in Beijing, a charge China denies. "I come here just to tell others that even after summer holidays end we are not back to our normal life, we should continue to fight for Hong Kong," said one 19-year-old student who asked to be identified as just Chan. On the first day of the new school year, secondary students were seen singing, chanting and forming human chains, some wearing hard hats and masks. Many primary schools were closed because of a typhoon warning. China accuses Western countries of egging on the protests. It says Hong Kong is its own internal affair. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated Beijing's support for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam. "China's central government supports chief executive Carrie Lam’s leadership ... to administer in accordance with the law and supports Hong Kong's police tackling the violence and chaos in accordance with the law to restore order," he told a press briefing. Protesters gathered after dusk fell next to the Hong Kong headquarters of the People's Liberation Army, shining dozens of green lasers at a barracks building in a tropical downpour. Police briefly used pepper spray nearby to keep the crowds back. 'We'd like to keep schools calm' Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung told reporters that schools were no place for "raising political demands" or trying to pressure the government. "We would like to keep schools as calm, peaceful and orderly places for students to study," he said. Students have turned out in significant numbers at recent rallies and were also prominent during the 2014 pro-democracy "Umbrella" movement that foreshadowed the current unrest. "It's very different from what happened back then. People are more mad now," said Summer, a 20-year-old student who only gave his first name. Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to Hong Kong airport on Sunday. Some then targeted the MTR subway station in nearby Tung Chung, ripping out turnstiles and smashing CCTV cameras, glass panels and lamps with metal poles. Police made several arrests. Lam, a lightning rod for protesters' anger, said on her Facebook page on Monday that 10 subway stations had been damaged by "violent offenders" over the weekend. John Lee, government secretary for security, told media that nearly 100 petrol bombs were thrown in various locations on Saturday with two found on a 13-year-old boy who was arrested inside an MTR station. The head of the Hong Kong Court Prosecutors' Association sent an internal email to all Department of Justice staff, accusing the police of lying about the timing of the arrest of seven pro-democracy figures, including three lawmakers, on Friday, broadcaster RTHK reported. Association chairman William Wong said it was clear that the police were lying when they said it was only a "coincidence" that the arrests came on the eve of a planned mass rally. The unrest began over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be sent to China for trial in courts controlled by the party. The turmoil has evolved into calls for democracy. China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1.With Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, China has also warned of the damage the protests are causing to the economy.

Hong Kong students rally peacefully after weekend of protest violence

Police have fired tear gas in Hong Kong as they face off with protesters at multiple locations in the city. Outside the legislative complex, tear gas engulfed protesters, many of whom were holding umbrellas and wearing helmets and gas masks.

Police fire tear gas at multiple protests in HKong