Chief Secretary Carrie Lam 'shaken' by old-age allowance outcry
Carrie Lam admits it is worrying that even a relief measure for the elderly poor can prove controversial in a city that is so 'ideologically divided'
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has admitted the old-age living allowance saga has shaken her confidence about achieving a consensus on political reforms.
Speaking frankly at a Chinese University lecture yesterday, Lam said politics in a city as ideologically divided as Hong Kong was a complex process.
"Look at the old-age living allowance saga - even a relief measure for the elderly can be controversial. We can see how big the differences in ideology are [in the current political climate]."
Fielding questions from 500 students, the No 2 in the government said she still aspired to achieve a wide consensus on the controversial arrangements for universal suffrage in 2017, which was likely to affect the election of the chief executive.
She expressed similar hopes for reforms to take effect by the 2016 Legislative Council election.
On her philosophy of leadership, Lam said she believed a good premier needed to "rock the boat".
She stressed that government policies must be driven by "pragmatism" rather than "romanticism". The government is currently trying to pass the funding application of the old-age living allowance, which proposes to give poor elderly a monthly payment of HK$2,200.