How Hong Kong’s new leader Carrie Lam can show she is not ‘CY 2.0’
Raymond Mak says the incoming Hong Kong chief executive must listen to the people as well as act, and that includes reaching out to pan-democrats to heal the political divide
Lam spent long years in the civil service and has a reputation for executing difficult policies. As a political appointee, she positioned herself as someone who prefers to get into the nuts and bolts of policymaking, rather than play politics.
To govern effectively, Carrie Lam should look beyond civil service
During her campaign, Lam championed policies relating to social and livelihood issues, such as housing and the tax system, while avoiding sensitive political issues, such as national security legislation and Hong Kong’s constitutional development. It is likely that this will continue under her administration.
To realise her plan of putting good policies first, she has to recruit people from all sides to join her team, including those from outside the establishment camp. But despite her efforts, most pan-democrats are reluctant to be part of her team. In view of this, we can expect the new chief executive to face significant challenges right from the start of her term.
Nevertheless, the new administration can win some support from moderate pan-democrats by picking the low-hanging fruit. One would be abolishing the hated Territory-wide System Assessment for Primary Three students, which she has pledged to do. Another would be the proper use of administrative power.
First group of Hong Kong pan-democrats to have met Carrie Lam are willing to give her ‘benefit of the doubt’
