Seeking input or selling out? Hong Kong observers divided over Carrie Lam’s decision to delay policy address, but planning is likely to suffer

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s abrupt, unprecedented decision to postpone her annual policy address elicited mixed reactions from observers on Monday, with some saying the move could reflect a legitimate need to consult Beijing, and others insisting she was being cavalier with the city’s autonomy.

Some detractors accused Lam of prioritising a desire to appease Beijing over the smooth running of the city’s policymaking establishment – not to mention her constitutional duty to look after the city’s interests – though supporters were quick to defend the move as understandable at a time of soaring uncertainty, and against the backdrop of a badly ailing economy.

Multiple observers with knowledge of government workings, however, agreed that whatever Lam’s departure from decades of convention might signify, her decision to postpone the address until after a series of meetings on the mainland came at the expense of delaying important government planning, which would no doubt be affected.

Cheung Man-kwong, an opposition politician who served as a lawmaker from 1991 to 2012, said the chief executive had effectively abdicated her constitutional duty to care for the interests of Hong Kong people when she decided to join President Xi Jinping for an anniversary ceremony in Shenzhen on Wednesday instead of delivering her speech as scheduled.

“The Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, states that the chief executive shall be accountable to the central government and the special administrative region,” Cheung said. “Her decision shows she cares more about the views of state leaders and the central government.”

Lam revealed in a hastily arranged press briefing on Monday that her flagship speech would now be delivered by the end of November, the first time it has been delayed in such an abrupt fashion in the city’s history.