Hong Kong leader urges calm as protest tensions rise; airport reopens

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday the city’s recovery from protests that have swept the Asian financial hub could take a long time and that she would be responsible for rebuilding its economy “after the violence eases”. Her comments followed serious developments in the growing crisis over the past week. Beijing said on Monday the protests had begun to show “sprouts of terrorism”, and the city’s airport was closed in an unprecedented move that forced hundreds of flight cancellations. She said violence by protesters had pushed Hong Kong into “a state of panic and chaos”. “Hong Kong, as an open, free, very tolerant, economically stable city will see severe wounds ... The recovery may take a long time,” she said. The increasingly violent demonstrations have plunged the Chinese-ruled territory into its most serious crisis in decades, presenting Chinese leader Xi Jinping with one of his biggest challenges since he came to power in 2012. Hong Kong’s airport reopened on Tuesday with some flight resumptions but hundreds of others were still cancelled, with airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific and Malaysian Airlines advising travelers of rescheduling. The airport was the latest focus of protests that began two months ago. Its administrator blamed demonstrators for halting flights Monday but the exact trigger for the closure was not clear because protesters occupying the arrivals hall for the past five days have been peaceful. Most protesters had left the airport shortly after midnight, with about 50 protesters still there on Tuesday morning. Hong Kong’s airport is the eighth busiest by passenger traffic, handling 73m passengers a year.<br/>