Carrie Lam’s policy pivot is too little, too late to heal Hong Kong

The chief executive’s acknowledgement that political impasse lies at the root of Hong Kong’s many problems is startling for stating the obvious
While some may welcome her U-turn, it’s hard to see how she can make peace with the opposition in the wake of the national security law

Michael Chugani

Published: 6:00am, 23 Jul 2020

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Did she really say it or did I get it wrong? To make sure, I watched for myself Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s interview with a Hong Kong television station. It was in Cantonese, which I speak fluently. Yes, she did say it – nothing lost in translation.

Without mincing words, Lam admitted bad blood between the government and the opposition was the main obstacle to solving issues such as housing. What took her so long? It’s been common knowledge since the Occupy uprising.

Her awakening came a week ago today. If she has finally seen the light, it’s a sea change for a leader who even some close aides have privately described as stubbornly arrogant, who ignored early advice from some cabinet members against her now-dead extradition bill.

Lam said in the interview it would be difficult to govern Hong Kong without solving the political impasse. “So the coming policy address is inseparable from talking about politics,” she said.

Let’s have a memory refresh of her policy address last October. Anti-extradition bill protests were raging. Police tear gas filled the air. Protesters hurled petrol bombs. Street battles between the police and protesters rocked the city. Opposition legislators shouted down Lam when she tried to deliver her policy speech in the Legislative Council.

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Hong Kong leader forced to deliver policy address via video

She had to settle for making her speech through video. Instead of showing leadership to deal with the mass protests making international headlines, though, she chose to focus on livelihood issues. It was bizarre – almost like a leader fiddling while the city burned.

Now she says the coming policy address is inseparable from talking about politics. It was far more inseparable last October, yet she separated it.

Some would say better late than never. I won’t because I believe it’s too late. A permanent pall now hangs over Hong Kong in the form of a Beijing-imposed national security law. Bad blood has worsened.

How it is possible for Lam to reconcile differences with the opposition under the shadow of the security law, which goes against everything the opposition believes in? Political reform lies at the heart of the impasse. The opposition wants Western-style democracy. The security law has made that virtually impossible.

Free speech now has ambiguous red lines. Protest songs and slogans draw police warnings of security law breaches. Even holding blank sheets of white paper has got protesters in trouble.

A year after white-shirted thugs attacked passengers and protesters at Yuen Long MTR station, only seven have been charged. Meanwhile, the police act swiftly against anti-government protesters, including 10 arrested under the new security law.

With the security law making the political divide even greater than during last year’s protests, what does Lam mean when she says politics is inseparable from her upcoming policy speech? I don’t know, but I hope she doesn’t mean Hongkongers can forget about real democracy.

What sank the 2014 political reform framework was the requirement that chief executive candidates be screened by a nominating committee dominated by pro-Beijing members, which the opposition rejected as fake democracy. Beijing has not improved its offer. Instead, it has tightened the noose with a security law.

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What you should know about China's new national security law for Hong Kong

I can’t see how Lam can make peace with the opposition unless Beijing agrees to revisit political reforms with an open mind despite the security law. Beijing compromising with the opposition on genuine democracy would dial down the Western narrative that China is the new enemy.

That won’t happen because Beijing believes the West is using Hong Kong to threaten national security, even though it has yet to provide any clear-cut evidence. Lam is a minor player in the great US-China game for global dominance. Yet her extradition bill, which presaged the security law, has made Hong Kong the front line of a new Cold War.

Now that the security law has put her firmly under the thumb of her Beijing bosses, how does she intend to deal with the political impasse? Hold your breath until October.

Michael Chugani is a Hong Kong journalist and TV show host

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