Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday said that the city’s Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will stick to the “one country, two systems” principle and safeguard Hong Kong residents’ human rights and freedom protected under the Basic Law.

The HKSAR government will follow three principles in dealing with the social unrest or in a future administration, one of which is adherence to the “one country, two systems” principle and protection of human rights and freedom guaranteed in the Basic Law, Xinhua quoted Lam as saying to reporters.

The other two principles are maintaining the rule of law and keeping Hong Kong’s institutional strengths, she said,

Lam further said that Hong Kong has in place a good set of electoral laws to ensure elections are conducted in a fair and honest manner and that fair elections are one of the important institutional strengths.

Lam thanked all candidates for participating in the elections in face of challenges, in particular, those candidates who were physically threatened or whose offices and publicity materials were damaged during the campaign.

On Sunday, the city voted in district council elections on Sunday in a ballot pro-democracy movement hoped would send a message to the Beijing-backed government.

On Saturday, the city’s officials warned the vote could be postponed after some candidates came under attack and the city was paralyzed as protesters blocked roads and riot cops laid siege to a university.

On Friday, the city’s police asked the demonstrators to leave the city’s Polytechnic University (PolyU) campus as soon as possible, citing bad and dangerous conditions inside.

Earlier this week, around 800 students have been reported to be trapped in the Polytechnic University in the city, where the police were firing tear gas at any protesters trying to escape the campus.

The protests, which have been drawing massive crowds since June following a contentious proposed extradition law that has been pulled by the government, have mutated into a movement that seeks to improve the democratic mechanisms that govern Hong Kong and safeguard – or expand – the region’s partial autonomy from Beijing.

The controversial China extradition bill was withdrawn in early September but the movement has morphed into a wider campaign for greater democracy and against alleged police brutality.