Regina Ip pledges loyalty to C.Y. and Carrie Lam in Exco
Former rival says city's government is 'the weakest in history' but that the chief executive can count on her best advice to make it work
The government's ministerial team is "the weakest in Hong Kong's history" but the Executive Council will be well positioned to help it formulate policies that will win public support, according to new Exco member Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee.
Ip, a former chief executive candidate, said that as an Exco member she would work with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and advise him on how to be more politically sensitive.
Speaking to the - in her first interview with an English-language newspaper since her appointment to Exco this month - Ip also dismissed concerns of rivalry on the council between herself, Leung and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Leung's most senior official.
In September, Ip suggested Lam had tried to salvage her declining popularity by breaking down in tears on television and said that Lam's credibility had suffered in the administration that took office on July 1. Despite these remarks, Ip - believed by many analysts to be a likely contender for chief executive in 2017 - said there would not be any rivalry among the three on Exco.
"We all have different roles to play. C. Y. plays the role of [chief executive], Mrs Lam, being [chief secretary], is tasked to assist him, and me, being a member of Exco, my constitutional role is to give him sound advice, the best advice that I see fit," said Ip, a lawmaker and chairwoman of the New People's Party.
One of the most important issues facing Leung's administration was the lack of experienced civil servants to help with policy matters, she said.
