Commerce chief's new deputy vows to stay the course
Career bureaucrat says he offers continuity after series of resignations by political assistants
The commerce minister's newly appointed deputy yesterday put on a brave face and vowed to serve in the government until 2017, despite the recent resignations of three political assistants.
Godfrey Leung King-kwok, 49, will take office as the deputy to Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung next month, on pay of HK$183,350 a month.
Before taking up his last job as a director for worker registration at the Construction Industry Council, Leung spent 15 years at the Trade Development Council. He held various positions, dealing with industry relations, mainland and overseas products and services promotion, exhibitions, and headed up the council's Shenzhen and New York offices.
Leung said he applied for his new job last summer, when then chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying called for nominations for politically appointed posts, and that he had not been deterred by negative publicity around the government since then.
When asked whether he could promise to stay in his post in the next four years, Godfrey Leung said: "Absolutely yes. I hope I shall be able to contribute to the process of formulating, promoting, and implementing the bureau's policies."
The undersecretary's appointment came days after Carmen Cheung Sau-lai, political assistant to Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, stepped down on Saturday, citing "family reasons".