Carrie Lam ‘faces hard task in filling cabinet’, senior aide says
Exco member Bernard Chan says there are too many barriers discouraging able candidates and that more must be done to attract talented people
The three barriers Lam faces are: the demands of Beijing, the refusal of pan-democrats to join the administration and an increasingly politicised society that had put off many possible candidates.
While Lam attributed the difficulties to the “hot kitchen” of government, Chan, who managed Lam’s election campaign, said: “There is no system to encourage people to serve society. At present, it’s like you have to beg people to join you in the sea of flames.”
High-fliers in business or professional fields often find it difficult to join the government as what they were doing – and had done in the past – would be subject to close scrutiny.