Carrie Lam drops plan to extend Hong Kong’s anti-bribery laws to chief executive post, says amendment could create ‘difficult situations’ for city leaders

The Post reported last year that Beijing was against Lam’s election promise to widen laws already covering ministers, civil servants

Calls to address the issue first emerged in 2012, when then chief executive Donald Tsang was accused of accepting bribes from a businessman

Reading Time:3 minutes

Carrie Lam told reporters on Tuesday that she would drop an attempt to extend anti-bribery legislation to cover the chief executive position. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 1:29pm, 1 Dec 2020Updated: 10:21pm, 1 Dec 2020

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will not extend the city’s anti-bribery laws to cover her own chief executive position, reneging on a promise she made in her election manifesto three years ago.

Lam said amending the law would affect her “constitutional role” in the political system, insisting Beijing – which the Post earlier reported was opposed to the change – would take any necessary actions were she to be involved in misconduct.

“[The amendments] were far more complicated, and could end up with … very difficult situations for the chief executive to discharge his or her duties. That’s why, despite attempts being made, we could not overcome those difficulties,” she said ahead of her weekly meeting with her policy advisers on Tuesday.

If there are other brighter ideas on how we could do this without violating the constitutional position of the chief executive, then [future administrations] could always look at the issue again

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam

Lam was referring to Sections 3 and 8 of the anti-bribery ordinance, which govern the conduct of ministers and civil servants, but exempt the chief executive.

Calls to address the issue first emerged in 2012, when then chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen faced allegations of accepting bribes from a businessman. A special committee chaired by former chief justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang later recommended the law be revised to cover the city leader and require he or she to obtain permission before accepting advantages.

Running for the top job in 2017, Lam vowed to revise the ordinance as suggested and to “resolve as soon as possible those constitutional and legal issues” necessary for an amendment. Following her victory that same year, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said in a reply to lawmakers that the government would “initiate the legislative procedure as early as possible”.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said following Carrie Lam’s 2017 victory that the government would ‘initiate legislative procedures’ to make the changes ‘as early as possible’. Photo: Edmond So

But on Tuesday, Lam insisted that revising the provisions could affect her “constitutional role” in the city’s political system, saying the central government would take “appropriate actions” against any wrongdoings committed by a city leader.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x

Carrie Lam drops plan to extend Hong Kong’s anti-bribery laws to chief executive post, says amendment could create ‘difficult situations’ for city leaders

The Post reported last year that Beijing was against Lam’s election promise to widen laws already covering ministers, civil servants Calls to address the issue first emerged in 2012, when then chief executive Donald Tsang was accused of accepting bribes from a businessman

The Post reported last year that Beijing was against Lam’s election promise to widen laws already covering ministers, civil servants

Calls to address the issue first emerged in 2012, when then chief executive Donald Tsang was accused of accepting bribes from a businessman