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[01 Weekly Editorial] Hong Kong needs a new chief executive

2021-12-27T12:09:36.773Z


It was the day before Leung Chunying made the announcement to the public that Carrie Lam knew that her boss would not compete for re-election as the chief executive. At that time, as the Chief Secretary for Administration, she was the government’s second-in-command and was at the core of power.


It was the day before Leung Chunying made the announcement to the public that Carrie Lam knew that her boss would not compete for re-election as the chief executive.

At that time, as Chief Secretary for Administration, she was the second in command of the government and was at the core of power. However, she was very surprised by this sudden news and had to reconsider running for the chief executive because of this "great change in circumstances."

The Catholic Lam Cheng said one month later that she was inspired by God and decided to run for the election. Many people in Hong Kong believed that she was blessed by the Central Committee.

In any case, the rest is history.


Lin Zheng was not as popular as Tsang Junhua, but he still got some expectations, including ours.

On the day she announced her candidacy, she said that "it is not just 1,194 Election Committee members. I am facing more than 7 million citizens in Hong Kong. She understands that without the support of the general public, governance in the future will be difficult." It shows that she understands that the chief executive is not only accountable to the central government, but also to Hong Kong society.

Another example is that she insisted in her campaign pamphlet to find a common language and dispel hostility. "Even if I don't necessarily agree with my work philosophy, but I hope at least I won't be disgusted with me." She tried to persuade the public that she could mend the severe social tears at the time.

Carrie Lam campaigned for chief executive under the banner of "We Connect", but after being elected, she was repeatedly questioned about "staying away from the ground" and getting further and further away from society.

(Photo by Luo Junhao)

Leaders can’t “leave the ground firmly”

After taking office, Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor led principal officials and guild members to attend the Legislative Council luncheon. Pan-democratic legislators including the Civic Party and the Democratic Party were present at the same time. She even personally took over Leung Kwok-hsiung’s card to fight for universal withdrawal from the insurance. And have conversations with each other.

Half a year later, the Democratic Party held a 23rd anniversary party celebration dinner. Unlike Leung Chun-ying, Lam Cheng not only led three directors and several directors to attend, but also donated 30,000 yuan from his own pocket. Later, he also added 30,000 yuan on social platforms. "Great Reconciliation" label.

It may be an exaggeration to say that it is a "great reconciliation," but no one can deny that the political atmosphere at that time has improved a lot compared to the Liang Zhenying era.

But we all know that the amendments in 2019 changed everything.

The amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance is something that should be done. The only question is how to do it.

Even after two and a half years, the community still remembers how rough the Lam Cheng government's promotion work was. On the one hand, it failed to effectively respond to the worries of the legal profession. On the other hand, it was requested by the business community to amend the draft.

When Lam Cheng announced the suspension of the legislative amendments, he admitted that "there is indeed insufficient work in terms of explanation and communication." However, why communication fails is a question worth pondering.

She campaigned under the banner of "We Connect", but because she didn't know how to use Octopus and buy toilet paper and other trivial matters, she was questioned "stay off the ground."

Small things don't have to be big, but one leaf can tell the autumn, the chief executive and the society go further and further, and the supporters of the establishment also complain that everything is not accidental.

In a nutshell, leaders must come from the masses and go to the masses.

Deepening social tearing is a major issue, but it is not the only issue.

Among the four requirements of the Chief Executive, Wang Guangya, the former director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, "the support of Hong Kong people" includes "the ability to govern." "Being an inspiring patriot" also includes being good at "solving the various contradictions faced by Hong Kong's development" and "doing practical things for the people."

But in the past four and a half years, how many contradictions the government has solved and how much practical work has it done for the citizens?

A year before the anti-amendment legislation, when society was not yet disturbed by political controversies, Lam Cheng held a big land debate.

There are loud calls for the resumption of the Fanling Golf Course to build a house, but she is indifferent, and instead pushes for the Lantau Tomorrow project, which is difficult to put out of the fire.

At the beginning of the current government, the average waiting time for public housing was 4.7 years, and now it has been as high as 5.9 years, which is farther and farther away from the three-year promise of going upstairs.

Of course, the insufficient supply of public housing cannot be entirely blamed on this government, but don't political leaders just want to reform governance, correct direction and solve problems?

After four and a half years in office, there is no hope for society, and the chief executive cannot shirk the blame.

Officials must understand what it means to be an official, and must be determined to solve problems, and should not leave issues such as housing, poverty, and insufficient social security to the next term.

There is no way to blame the people's livelihood

Many people blame the so-called opposition for the governance problems in Hong Kong, accusing them of obstructing the Legislative Council in every possible way and preventing the government from governing.

It is true that the democrats use the Legislative Council as a venue for political struggles, but is it something they would oppose a substantial increase in the minimum wage?

Who would not support the government in taking care of the disadvantaged in society and preventing the occurrence of one murder after another?

The authorities did not take back farmland and brownfields to build subsidized housing. Is it because the democrats are getting in the way?

What's more, under the administrative-led political system, the governance team led by the chief executive-not the legislative council-is the main body in launching policies and reforming society.

In the final analysis, an official must understand what it is for an official, and must have the determination to solve the problem, instead of letting the problems of housing, poverty, and inadequate social security be left to the next, and the degree is even more and more year after year. severe.

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made the last report of her term of office last week, but what she said was still "concentrating on economic development and improving people's livelihood." In fact, there is no result to say.

In the past two years, the Central Government has vigorously and vigorously rectified the political situation in Hong Kong. It has not only enacted and promulgated the Hong Kong National Security Law, but also ensured that the Legislative Council is only attended by patriots and Hong Kong patriots.

We have already pointed out that the new political normal poses the greatest challenge to the government, because they no longer have a target to blame.

As the central government announced last week on the "Democratic Development of Hong Kong under "One Country, Two Systems"" white paper, the last paragraph pointed out that "With the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the improvement of the electoral system...the various deep-seated contradictions and problems that have plagued Hong Kong for a long time will become more serious. Conditions can be effectively resolved."

A truly accountable government cannot achieve a stable political situation and still fail to achieve results in economics and people's livelihood.

To bid farewell to subdivided housing and release "house slaves", we need a new chief executive who will not be superstitious on the home ownership ladder, and understand that housing is a basic need for people's lives, not a luxury product that is solely driven by market supply and demand.

Adjusting the supply and demand of housing to make the high property prices softly land. Although we emphasize a set of political economy suitable for Hong Kong, what is more fundamental is the mentality of putting people first and understanding that life is the simple truth of politics.

Of course, the right attitude is sometimes more valuable than advanced knowledge.

To let Hong Kong people not only survive, but live, we need a new chief executive who pursues social justice.

In theory, this is about the knowledge of primary distribution and secondary distribution: it is about how to make citizens’ labor worthwhile and get a more reasonable and fair return from their work, rather than just letting capitalists “lose”; it’s about how to use social welfare. The system protects the disadvantaged groups, so that they will not suffer due to old, weak, disabled or temporary encounters.

But in the final analysis, this is actually just a pursuit of value.

To give young people a future and enable them to make Hong Kong their home, our Chief Executive not only needs to be open-minded, but also understands by listening, but also needs to know that the challenges faced by this generation are completely different from those of the previous generation.

The spirit of the Lion Rock, that you will make your way forward is a story that has passed. This generation is facing economic stagnation, social mobility is getting lower and lower, and it is the predicament of having a favorite but not having the financial ability to start a family.

Our special priority is to completely change the social environment in Hong Kong so that young people can remain, and even those who have moved to other places are willing to come back.

"The times are the people who write the papers, we are the responders, and the people are the people who mark the papers." Hong Kong people have already commented on Carrie Lam's answer.

The people are the reviewers of governance

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who grew up in the 1970s, lived in an old building in Wan Chai when she was young. After returning home from school, she could only stand on the lower level of the bunk bed and use the upper level as a desk for homework.

With her hard work, she also takes the first place almost every year, enters the best university in Hong Kong, and becomes the political director of the best of heaven after graduating from university.

The evaluation of "good play" is absolutely true, and Lam Cheng's hard work and ability are definitely worthy of recognition.

But these are only necessary conditions for being a chief executive, not sufficient conditions.

In the past four and a half years, she has indeed failed to solve the social and people's livelihood problems, creating more serious political tears. Even after the central government stabilized the political situation in Hong Kong, the public once again felt the chief executive's arrogant mentality.

When the anti-amendment turmoil was in full swing in June of the previous year, Carrie Lam once choked up in front of a TV interview, "Say I'm selling Hong Kong, how can I sell Hong Kong? I was born and raised, and I grew up with all Hong Kong people. The love of the place made me make a lot of personal sacrifices... He (Lam Cheng’s husband, Lin Zhaobo) said how could you sell Hong Kong? But you really have a problem. After you become the Chief Executive, you sell yourself to Hong Kong.”

I believe that in the hearts of Carrie Lam’s family, she is a good wife and a good mother, and in the eyes of government officials, she must also be a good diligent and rigorous boss.

But for the governors, as President Xi Jinping emphasized more than once, "The times are the people who write the papers, we are the respondents, and the people are the people who read the papers."

Hong Kong people have already reviewed this answer sheet given by Carrie Lam.

Please pay attention to the 297th "Hong Kong 01" weekly electronic report published on December 28, 2021.

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Source: hk1

All news articles on 2021-12-27

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