Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam questions Ted Hui’s credibility after criticism of banking sector, insists financial institutions ‘robust as ever’

Carrie Lam says self-exiled opposition figure Ted Hui is the ‘culprit’ for any damage done to city’s finance sector

The broadside comes amid a flap between Hui and local authorities over the freezing of several bank accounts belonging to him and his family

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to the press before her weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 3:44pm, 8 Dec 2020Updated: 11:41pm, 8 Dec 2020

Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday questioned the trustworthiness of a self-exiled former opposition lawmaker who had cast doubt on the independence of the city’s banks, saying if any damage had been done to the financial sector, he was the “culprit”.

Dismissing criticism from ex-lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung – who had called out what he characterised as political pressure on the city’s banking industry after his accounts were frozen – Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor sought to reassure investors, saying “Hong Kong’s monetary and financial systems are as robust as ever”.

Speaking ahead of her weekly meeting with advisers on Tuesday, Lam urged the public to consider “what sort of person we are dealing with now”, saying Hui had lied to the Hong Kong courts to jump bail and go into exile in Britain last week.

Former lawmaker Ted Hui has questioned the independence of Hong Kong’s banks after his accounts were frozen. Photo: Dickson Lee

“Is this individual so trustworthy that you should take his words at face value and accuse the Hong Kong financial institutions of doing things which are not in accordance with the law?” she asked.

“If there is any damage to the institutions, the culprit is this individual,” she added.

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