Carrie Lam’s policy address needs to show qualities of a leader

The chief executive’s speech should be inclusive in a bid to bridge the political divide. And while a clear vision for the future would be welcome, the difficulty will be achieving it

Cliff Buddle

Published: 9:13pm, 2 Oct 2021

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The first policy address delivered by Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor carried the upbeat message: “We connect for hope and happiness.”

Her speech in 2017 outlined new measures to tackle the housing crisis, create a “smart city”, and engage youth. She sought to calm the political climate and refused to say when new national security laws or electoral reforms would be introduced. Neither appeared to be on her agenda.

No one could have predicted the events that would follow. Less than two years later, the chief executive’s unpopular extradition bill sparked mass protests and months of civil unrest. Beijing responded with a sweeping security law and tightened the election system to ensure only “patriots” govern Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic has seen strict border controls limit travel and threaten Hong Kong’s role as an international city.

It would be nice to see a little humility and a concession that mistakes were made

This week, Lam will give the final policy address of her term. She has promised it will be “visionary”. This has, inevitably, sparked speculation the veteran public servant intends to stand for a second term in March.

A clear vision for the city’s future would be welcome amid the uncertainty of two turbulent years. But what will it be? Certainly not a return to violent protests. Hong Kong must remain safe and orderly.

But the drastic response to events in 2019 has left many wondering what sort of a society is being created. Leading opposition figures have been jailed and organisations that served the community for decades are folding. Those working in creative fields worry about invisible legal red lines and schools are scrambling to meet new requirements. Even the annual Tiananmen vigil, a symbol of the city’s freedoms, is under threat.

Recent elections saw more police on patrol than there were voters. The hosting of the Gay Games has been attacked by some lawmakers, with bizarre suggestions it could threaten national security. Amid all the changes, some 90,000 people have left the city.

For all of that, there is still a case to be made for Hong Kong. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po sought to make it in a long report last week. It highlighted many of the city’s undoubted attractions, but was partial in its telling of the “Hong Kong story”. The report was full of the usual rhetoric, from “black-clad violence” to “political suppression from Western countries”. It dovetails with China’s “fact sheet” alleging US interference in Hong Kong affairs, including inciting the civil unrest. Chan’s report might please the bosses in Beijing, but is unlikely to sway the international business community.

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Lam will, no doubt, also have an eye on Beijing when delivering her policy address, especially if she wants a second term. But the chief executive is responsible to the people of Hong Kong, too, and her speech should seek to engage or, to use her word, connect with them. We can expect measures to ease the housing crisis and wealth gap, just as in 2017.

But rather than conveniently blaming all the city’s woes on dastardly democrats and fiendish foreign powers, there is need for some retrospection. The protests of 2019 were the result of failures in governance as much as anything else, a complex culmination of various frustrations that built up over many years. There is a need to work out where it all went wrong so that lessons can be learned. Only then can the city move on.

It would be nice to see a little humility and a concession that mistakes were made. Lam should offer reassurance to those who feel fearful and uncertain about the future. The speech needs to be inclusive, to attempt to bridge the political divide. In short, she should show all the qualities of a leader.

We wait to see her grand plan. In 2017, she said that to achieve her vision of hope and happiness “we need to have a society that is united, harmonious and caring”. This was true then and it is much needed now. The difficult part is achieving it.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Lam’s policy address needs to show qualities of a leader