Carrie Lam’s arrogance and the ineffectiveness of her advisers brought her to a political precipice

In her election manifesto, the chief executive promised a new consultative style of governance that is absent in her initial response to opposition to the extradition bill
Her Executive Council must also share the blame for not stepping up sooner to deter Lam from rushing through the bill

Alice Wu

Published: 9:00am, 17 Jun 2019

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In a television interview after the biggest protest march in Hong Kong’s history, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor surprisingly shed a few tears, but unsurprisingly they were for herself. Those self-serving tears only confirm why she is in this predicament in the first place. Those tears were not just a bit rich, they were almost taunting to those – both protesters and police officers – who were out on the streets.

Lam’s arrogance is epic and has made her tone-deaf, blind and stubborn, so much so that she has managed to outdo her predecessors Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying in creating social rift and pushing public anger over the point of no return in record time.

In fact, Lam has even arrogantly dismissed her “arrogance”. Less than three months ago, Lam put on an over two-hour-long press conference at which she and her team touched on three separately contentious topics all in one go: the interim report of the commission of inquiry into the construction work at and near Hung Hom station under the Sha Tin-Central rail link, the government’s decision to shelve its toll adjustment proposal for traffic rationalisation between the three road harbour crossings, and the proposed amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance.

At this press conference, Lam mused over her “arrogance”. When asked how another government policy U-turn would affect her governance, she said that if she didn’t shelve her cross-harbour toll adjustment proposal, the press would accuse her of being “arrogant”, while immediately adding that it was an accusation she has grown to be very used to. Lam also gave quite the lecture on the “art of governance”, which, according to her, requires having the wisdom to know when to push forward and when to retreat.

But it was a lost art for her. She was dismissive of the million people who took to the streets on June 9, believing that releasing a government statement late that night would suffice. The eventual suspension of the bill over the weekend – and her apology – came too late to win her much goodwill.

In her election manifesto, Lam wrote that her “new style of governance” includes public participation and discussion so that “during the formulation of policies we encourage discussion and listen. We should canvass opinions from all sectors of society, especially relevant stakeholders, those who work on the front line and the youth, with a view to seeking consensus in society.”

She pledged to do her best “to work towards creating a favourable atmosphere to take forward political reform”. On enacting legislation for Article 23, she cited “past experience” that “tells us that this subject is controversial and could easily cause social disturbance” and so, her government would “act cautiously to try and create the right social conditions for legislation.”

People protesting against the extradition bill retreat as the police fire tear gas on Queensway Road in Admiralty on June 12. Photo: Nora Tam

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It’s apparent that they’re just empty words. Her arrogance has failed not only Beijing, but also the people she has vowed to serve. It has deluded her into believing she can pull a fast one on everyone and get away with it.

Lam is no fighter. While she shed tears over her personal sacrifice, hiding in the comfort of Government House, violent clashes erupted on the streets because of her poor judgment. While she talked about paying a political price, her political allies – the pro-establishment camp in the legislature – crashed and burned.

We must acknowledge that Lam’s Executive Council has also failed her. Constitutionally required to assist the chief executive in policymaking, the council has, instead, pushed her to the precipice of political ruin. Together, they have exacerbated the mistrust between Beijing and Hong Kong, and gave a bad name to “one country, two systems”.

Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA

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