Hong Kong’s ice queen Carrie Lam melts hearts at maiden political rally
A beaming front runner casts off her image as a stern bureaucrat and reveals a softer, caring side – and why she likes to wear a cheongsam
With her old image in cold storage, a smiling, heavily made-up Lam wore a Unicef-blue T-shirt emblazoned with her campaign slogan “We Connect”. As she walked into the auditorium of the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, the room broke into a din as millionaires and supporters alike clapped thundersticks to welcome her.
A minor hiccup occurred when one shoe slipped off. Still beaming, Lam opted for a wireless microphone and strode around on stage much like a Ted show presenter at an event that had shades of a musical concert as she called people out in the audience to speak about her.
Lam, who turns 60 in May, spoke without a script for 45 minutes, at times making self-deprecating jokes about herself – like how her minder had taken away her Octopus card after her gaffe of showing Hongkongers she did not know how to use one.