Since the handover, we have witnessed a growing chorus of critics made up of high-ranking retired officials, who want to make a pastime of criticising their former boss - the government. First, we had former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang, then came former secretary for the civil service Joseph Wong Wing-ping and ex-security secretary Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who is now a legislator.
The latest member to join the chorus is head of the Equal Opportunities Commission Lam Woon-kwong. Lam was director of the Chief Executive's Office during the Tung Chee-hwa era.
Lam was once deemed a rising star in government by his peers. He resigned from the Chief Executive's Office after news reports exposed his extra-marital affairs. He then kept a low profile for quite a time, during which he took up a research role with the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre.
He made a political comeback in 2006 after being appointed chief executive officer of the equestrian events for the Olympic Games. He made another leap up the political ladder this year when Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen made him head of the EOC.
This is an important post because the commission is a statutory body responsible for implementing various anti-discrimination ordinances in Hong Kong, which means it has actual power.
However, Lam seems to want to leverage the power of this post to raise his personal profile, using it to attack Tsang's governance. First, he hit out against the retirement protection scheme, calling it a failure. Then, he criticised Tsang's policy address, saying it was too short-sighted.
His attack on the administration has surely helped him steal the political limelight from his former government colleagues who are also critics like him.
