City BeatWhy Carrie Lam has to hang on: she is on a mission of adversity to prove herself and allow Beijing more time to look for her successor
- The city’s leader is not due to step down for at least another three years, and it is hard to see any major changes any time soon
- Lam is battling to hang on and needs to make some progress before she heads across the border for the National Day celebrations
Hong Kong’s summer of discontent has just transitioned into autumn. Will it drag on over the winter, even into next spring, a season that traditionally signifies hope and new life?
No wise man can tell, as the city’s unprecedented political crisis shows no sign of ending, and neither is there any sign of an immediate leadership reshuffle which could help cool temperatures.
This reveals the reality of Hong Kong’s political status as a special administrative region of China instead of an independent entity. Like it or not, Beijing has the final say in deciding the city’s leadership.
Adding to the complexity of Beijing’s considerations is the troubling, foreseeable, behind-the-scenes bargaining and manoeuvring among various interest groups.
Beijing cannot ignore all the political wrestling once a new round of top-job jockeying begins, years ahead of its original timetable. Incumbent Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who brought this self-inflicted turmoil with her now already “dead” extradition bill, still has about three years to go.