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Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to announce major cabinet reshuffle with four ministers leaving and another transferred, sources reveal

  • Man in charge of constitutional and mainland China affairs moved to head the civil service in shake-up involving five top officials
  • Beijing expected to give green light for the injection of new blood into local administration as early as Wednesday

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Carrie Lam is set to unveil major changes to the line-up of her top team. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Hong Kong’s leader is set to announce a major cabinet reshuffle that will see four ministers leave her team while the top official in charge of constitutional and mainland China affairs will be transferred to head the civil service, sources have revealed.

Beijing is expected to make the announcement as early as Wednesday, giving the green light to a move to inject much-needed new blood into the local administration, in tandem with similar reshuffling recently at its two offices overseeing Hong Kong affairs.

Multiple sources told the Post on Tuesday that Director of Immigration Erick Tsang Kwok-wai would replace Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen.

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While the reshuffle was planned earlier, the news has been leaked amid a raging ­controversy over limits to the powers of the Beijing-based, ­cabinet-level Hong Kong and ­Macau Affairs Office and the ­central government’s liaison ­office in the city.

Nip made a public apology on Monday night for confusion and misunderstanding caused by the government’s conflicting statements over the weekend on the roles of the two offices.
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That followed an outcry among opposition politicians that the offices had interfered in Hong Kong’s internal affairs by criticising them for holding up the work of the Legislative Council with filibustering.

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