HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday she would "seriously reflect" on the landslide victory by pro-democracy candidates in the Sunday elections that were a clear rebuke of how she has handled protests, and the police siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University appears to be over, as only one woman was found in a campus search Tuesday.
Pro-democracy candidates swept nearly 90% of 452 district council seats, which will help it take unprecedented control of 17 out of 18 district councils, said Wu Chi-wai, head of the biggest pro-democracy bloc.
Sunday's results could force the central government in Beijing to rethink how to handle the unrest, now in its sixth month. The district councils have little power, but the vote was a referendum on public support for the protests.
"It's nothing short of a revolution," said Willy Lam, a political expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "It's a sound repudiation of the Carrie Lam administration and shows the silent majority are behind the demands of the protesters."
Lam acknowledged that some people viewed the results as a demonstration of public "dissatisfaction with the current situation and the deep-seated problems in society."
She said the government "will listen to the opinions of members of the public humbly and seriously reflect" on them.
The pro-democracy camp hailed its astounding gains as a victory for the people and said Lam and Beijing now must seriously heed protesters’ demands, which include free elections for the city's leader and legislature and an investigation of police brutality.
"We are only vehicles used to reflect the people's concerns," said Wu.
Beijing, which blames foreign powers for fomenting the unrest in Hong Kong, has showed no signs that it might soften its stance on the former British colony, which was returned to China in 1997.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters that Hong Kong will always be part of China, no matter the election outcome.
"Any attempts to destroy Hong Kong or harm Hong Kong's stability and development cannot possibly succeed," he said.
But the results will add pressure on Lam. Some pro-establishment candidates have already pointed fingers at her for their loss, and the pro-democracy camp says she should quit.
“I would say directly to Carrie Lam, ‘Do not squander this opportunity. Don't waste this chance ... the window has been opened for you,’” said British politician David Alton, an independent election monitor.
Meanwhile, a weeklong police siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University appears to be over, as a Tuesday search found just one woman, in weak condition, on campus, and a senior university official said it's unlikely anyone else remains.
A few people might still be hiding in the warren of buildings on the urban campus, trying to avoid arrest. Police have cordoned off the area to try to prevent anyone from escaping.
Polytechnic University Vice President Alexander Wai, who led a search of most of the campus by seven teams, said he could not rule that out, but "the possibility is not very high."
Attention in Hong Kong has shifted to Carrie Lam's response to a major loss in Sunday elections. Lam, after issuing only a written statement Monday, offered no concessions to anti-government protesters, saying only that she would accelerate dialogue and seek ways to address societal grievances.
