Good progress over approval of funding an example for all

Hong Kong public works projects and the city’s budget have been passed with little wrangling and this bodes well for the future, but leader Carrie Lam will still face challenges ahead

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam delivers a speech in the West Kowloon Cultural District on May 28. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:07am, 2 Jun 2018Updated: 5:07am, 2 Jun 2018

Ask anyone about their impression of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong and the answer is likely to be inefficient, chaotic or even dysfunctional.

This is hardly surprising, given the relationship between pan-democrat lawmakers and former chief executive Leung Chun-ying was anything but good. Thankfully, the situation appears to be improving under the leadership of Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

If figures released by Lam are any reference, Legco had already approved public work projects worth HK$68 billion by March. This came after she had expressed concern over the slow progress of funding in the initial months and reshuffled priorities with lawmakers from across the political spectrum.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other guests applaud after using shovels to dig up sand at a ceremony for the Hong Kong Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District on May 28. The Palace Museum, due to open in 2022, will showcase a collection loaned from the Palace Museum in Beijing. Photo: AFP

The two subcommittees overseeing public works spending and government headcounts were said to have held 82 hours of extra meetings as a result. It is estimated that the amount of public works funding approved by Legco this year will top HK$170 billion, the highest in five years. This is a refreshing outcome.

Earlier, the government budget was approved with relatively less wrangling. The prevailing political atmosphere is seemingly less tense as well, with some pan-democrat lawmakers joining an inspection tour of the “Greater Bay Area” in April.