After releasing her policy address last week, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has been interviewed by the media for several days, and has been “wolfing down” her response to outside criticism. She also claimed that she would not feel guilty for pushing the “Sending China Ordinance” last year, describing herself as “having regained confidence, the old me is back”. Some commentators say that Mrs. Lam has reached a point where she has become a rebel, both in Hong Kong politics and in her family.
“I have regained my confidence, the old me is back!” In an interview with Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced confidently that the former “war wolf woman” has returned. Since delivering her policy address last week, Mrs. Lam has been interviewed by the media and has taken the initiative to respond to outside criticism.
She has no remorse for pushing through amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance last year, which triggered the largest demonstrations and social unrest in Hong Kong since 1997: “I don’t feel guilty, what did I do wrong? I introduced the legislation (fugitive ordinance amendment) with the best of intentions.” She stressed that her only mistake was not explaining the bill clearly to the public.
As for her personal life, Mrs. Lam described herself as a “workaholic,” saying she didn’t even spend time chatting with her husband, stressing that there was plenty of work to do in Hong Kong and that she would spend every second of every day at work.
In an earlier interview with the Hong Kong International Business Channel, she said that under U.S. sanctions, she had to suspend her bank account and was paid in cash by the government, so she had plenty of cash at home. She even proudly said that it was an honor to be sanctioned to protect national security. The public was shocked.
Lam Cheng calls herself a “workaholic” to serve Hong Kong, but more than half of the public gave her a zero rating.
Although Mrs. Lam has described herself as a dedicated “workaholic” in Hong Kong, the public remains unmoved. According to the latest public opinion survey conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Public Opinion, 52% of the public gave Mrs. Lam a zero rating, and 64% were dissatisfied with her policy address, with a rating of 27.2, the lowest since records began in 1999.
Looking back at her Policy Address, under the slogan of Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), “Never Forget the Beginning, Never Forget the Struggle,” she has repeatedly emphasized Beijing’s full support for Hong Kong and vigorously advocated the “Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao,” which has been severely criticized by the public as “only Beijing, not Hong Kong people,” and even described her Policy Address as a “sell-out report.
In the face of criticism from Hong Kong people, Carrie Lam said she no longer looks at opinion polls, and does not pay much attention to popularity figures.
Scholar: Lam Cheng has plans for re-election bid
Hong Kong political scientist and former assistant professor of the Hong Kong Baptist University Wong Wai-Kwok said in an interview with the station that from the perspective of the struggle, Mrs. Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has a clear plan to run for re-election.
She treats public opinion like dirt, and it’s clear that her administration in the next two years will be for the Chinese Communist Party,” Wong said. Whether it’s using Hong Kong, taking away all of its financial reserves, or using Hong Kong’s stock market as a place to raise money for the mainland stock market, or sending Hong Kong’s young people back to the mainland, it’s clearly intended as a way to continue her re-election, a ‘giant gift’ to Xi Jinping, so to speak.”
The average person may find it hard to understand why Mrs. Lam went against public opinion and did many things that harmed Hong Kong’s interests, and still managed to talk and laugh and even be more confident than before, but it’s not hard to understand from the way she gets along with her family and friends, said Mr. Wong.
For example, she emphasizes that she doesn’t have a life, only a job,” said Wong. Obviously, she has some kind of disability or deficiency when it comes to communicating with others or listening to different opinions. Even though many people in the bureaucracy say that Mrs. Lam actually has no friends, and that her family ostensibly supports her, many interviews show that she has serious problems with her husband, or that her relationship with her children is not as harmonious as she claims. In terms of a personality, mental state or ability, Mrs. Lam is actually just taking advantage of a political need to rise to power.”
Pro-democracy: Beijing’s backing for Mrs. Lam to do as she pleases
She has been in public office for more than 40 years, and was described as a tough person long before she became the Chief Executive, but in the face of public sentiment, she is not only back to her old self, but even stronger than before. The former legislator of the Democratic Party, Mr. Lam Cheuk-ting, described Mrs. Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor as “swollen face and fat man”, not only back to her original color, but also “more and more terrifying”. She knows that her popularity in Hong Kong is very low, so she has to say that she is very firm and strong to create a false image,” Mr. Lam said. She thinks she can do whatever she wants now that she has the central government’s ‘backing,’ completely avoiding responsibility for the harm she has done to Hong Kong over the past year or so, deceiving herself and others, and shifting all the blame to others.”
However, not only the Hong Kong people and the pro-democracy camp, but also her subordinates and pro-Beijing legislators seem to have no respect for her. The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr. Tsang Kwok Wai, and the Secretary for Food and Health, Mr. Chan Siu Chee, were both caught by the media looking drowsy when Mrs. Lam read her policy address, while the pro-Beijing legislators were either playing mobile games or sending text messages to arrange for the purchase of hairy crabs.
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