Heribert Dieter: Results of Hong Kong district council elections only "symbolic"

Following the pro-government camp's landslide defeat in Hong Kong's district council elections on November 24, political scientist and Asia Global Institute Director of Research Heribert Dieter tells German national radio Deutchlandfunk that the elections were only symbolic, and would not unseat Chief Executive Carrie Lam. 

Still, the results show that Hong Kong is more politically aware than ever, and broad sections of the population support the protests, holding the government responsible for the escalation of the protests. "Eighty-three percent of the population said in a survey that it was not the protesters, but the government that made a significant contribution to the escalation", says Dieter. 

Listen to the full interview here (German only).