Hong Kong leader won't give in to protesters

 Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam pledged not to give in to protester's demands, even after the city’s pro-democracy camp won a landslide victory in district council elections.

Some 2.7 million residents cast their vote in a show of overwhelming support for the democracy camp, in an embarrassment for the government and Beijing, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported.

The vote transferred control of 17 out of 18 Hong Kong districts to pro-democracy groups for the first time ever, and is widely seen as a referendum on the protest movement and a sign that much of the city still supports demonstrations.

Lam told reporters that while "voters wanted to express their views" including dissatisfaction with the government, Hong Kong could "no longer tolerate violence on the streets," signaling that she would continue to resist protest demands.

She said the next step was for Hong Kong to set up an independent review committee similar to one held in Britain after the 2011 London riots.

Lam previously attempted to hold a community meeting in September but her efforts were thwarted when protesters surrounded the building as she met with 150 constituents chosen by a lottery system.

Protests began in Hong Kong over legislation that would have allowed residents to be extradited to mainland China, but they have since come to represent a mass movement against the local and Beijing governments and police violence.

Police unions, however, have so far blocked the independent commission.

Many protesters expressed concern that the draft extradition bill was a sign that Hong Kong was losing to China the autonomy which the former British colony was promised for 50 years when it returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.