Hong Kong leader holds six-hour brainstorming session with new team and then posts rare selfie

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor reminded her ministers at their first brainstorming session on Saturday to reach out more to the community to absorb “street wisdom” in tackling small livelihood issues.

The new Hong Kong leader, who has been in full swing since her inauguration on July 1, held the meeting with her team at Government House from 9am to 3pm.

“Team spirit: jumped out of the office with my team. Had a brainstorming session and worked hard for Hong Kong people together,” she wrote on her Facebook page, attaching selfies of her team all wearing white polo shirts made earlier to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the city’s handover to China.

According to an official with knowledge of the meeting, Lam conveyed her ideas for governance to her team and listened to the views of each principal official.

She encouraged the team to make more visits to different neighbourhoods, stressing that officials should not neglect small livelihood issues while focusing on major policies, and that “street wisdom” was helpful in resolving problems such as the provision of public toilets.

The chief executive again reminded her team to maintain good relations with lawmakers and the media, and not to rely on Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong to canvass votes from pro-establishment lawmakers for bills and funding requests.