LettersWhat will Hong Kong gain from forcing Carrie Lam to step down?

The chief executive has apologised for trying to push through an unpopular bill and deserves a second chance

The reality is, Hong Kong-mainland relations will be fraught no matter who the chief executive is

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam tenders her “most sincere apology” as she announces the suspension of the extradition bill, at the government headquarters in Admiralty on June 18. She also admitted the shortcomings of her government and promised to redouble efforts to heal the divided city Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 8:00am, 27 Jun 2019Updated: 8:00am, 27 Jun 2019

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor won’t be the last Hong Kong chief executive to be blamed for anything that involves “trust” with China. The hundreds of thousands who marched this month were not just against a bill that realistically would have very remote chances of affecting them – unless one had a genuine intention to have a brush with the law, especially involving mainland China. There were also huge public protests against two previous chief executives, and both were asked to step down by a large number of people at some point of their tenure.

The fact is, most Hongkongers do not trust mainland China, as its government, judiciary and political system are very different from ours. Although we are one country, we are worlds apart culturally and politically. Integration takes time and can’t be forced upon us. This is the reality and nobody, not even a chief executive, can do anything about it.

Posters call on Chief Executive Carrie Lam to step down, in Hong Kong on June 22. Photo: Reuters

Any chief executive will face a mass protest if he or she dares do anything that’s politically sensitive involving China, even if it is well-intentioned. This means most issues, since we’re part of “one country, two systems”. The other equally bad alternative is to simply do nothing to minimise the risk of antagonising the public.

Everybody deserves a second chance, including Mrs Lam. Forcing her to step down doesn’t solve the city’s inherent problems. Just recall that not too long ago, Mr Leung Chun-ying, our former chief executive, was blamed for all the ills in our society.

Most Hongkongers would agree that Mrs Lam was a very good chief secretary but wonder why she isn’t such a great chief executive. My personal impression is Mrs Lam is a highly competent person and wants to get things done swiftly. In our divided political climate, this may not be politically savvy. Mistakes like this are bound to happen.