Carrie Lam had been in the job as Hong Kong’s chief executive less than a month when she threatened to shut its financial community in a room until it sorted out the city’s markets. That might have sounded extreme but, just days later, one of the likely prisoners responded with an analogy of the situation that involved the city’s regulator bringing out its “handcuffs, tear gas and big guns”.

Hong Kong’s financial watchdogs are toughening their language. And in a city where the stock market is at the heart of its financial power — played by rich and poor alike — that means something. Asked about suspected cases of market manipulation, including the small-cap crash in July that wiped $6bn off stocks in hours, Ms Lam told a forum that the city needed stronger leadership in the sector. “We need to bring together our regulators and our market development practitioners,” she said, “and perhaps lock them in a room and let them find out the way forward for Hong Kong.”

Charles Li, chief executive of the Hong Kong exchange, then brought handcuffs to the party, defending the HKEX’s actions by likening its position to a traffic cop against the sheriff role played by the city’s watchdog, the Securities and Futures Commission.