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Carrie Lam
Hong KongPolitics

How a student helper earned HK$20,000 in a month on Carrie Lam’s campaign team

Office says while young people were paid an hourly wage of HK$100 for their work, other supporters at rally were volunteers and not given money just to show up

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Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor shares the stage with young people on her campaign team, during her election run. Photo: Sam Tsang
Kimmy Chung
Hong Kong’s chief executive-elect Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor paid student helpers on her campaign team HK$100 per hour – three times more than the minimum wage – for running errands and maintaining her Facebook page, sources have told the Post.
In an attempt to show she was in touch with the younger generation, Lam engaged young people to be in her team as part of her “We Connect” campaign during her run in the leadership race, and some of them were seen sharing the stage with her at her rally debut in early February.

According to the source, there were other university students working on her team behind the scenes as well. They were not volunteers but paid workers at an hourly rate of HK$100.

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The source said there were about 12 students assisting the campaign, and one earned over HK$20,000 within a month – about 33 per cent higher than the average income for new graduates.

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Meanwhile, public affairs head Sandra Mak was paid a monthly salary of more than HK$100,000. Despite this, Lam’s campaign saw some public gaffes, including one instance where her team drew the ire of many when they said she was “too tired” to visit grass-roots groups in far west Tin Shui Wai.
Carrie Lam kicks off her campaign with supporters in early February. Photo: Edward Wong
Carrie Lam kicks off her campaign with supporters in early February. Photo: Edward Wong
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