Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam floats biggest government restructuring in 14 years, but admits it won’t happen by end of term
- The ambitious plan would see the creation of a totally new bureau, the splitting of another and the reorganisation of two more
- However, Lam suggests the next chief executive, to be elected in March, can consider taking her plans forward
But Lam insisted that the ambitious plan should not be seen as evidence she would seek re-election, saying: “I am proposing these to address unavoidable problems in society. This is completely unrelated to whether I seek another term … I won’t sit still and do nothing because my term is approaching an end.”
The reorganisation proposal would see the Transport and Housing Bureau split into two, and the Home Affairs and Innovation and Technology bureaus renamed and given new remits to focus on youth policies and promoting industry, respectively. It would also create an all-new Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau.
The plan would take the total number of bureaus from 13 to 15, with Lam saying she hoped to provide “more dedicated high-level steering” in major policy areas.
But during her question-and-answer session on Wednesday, Lam acknowledged she had no plans to realise the proposal in the eight months left in her term.
Instead, she suggested that the next chief executive, to be elected in March, could consider taking her plans forward in the Legislative Council and implementing them when the next government term commences in July.
Under Lam’s blueprint, the new Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau would be tasked with helping to achieve the central government’s goal of developing Hong Kong into a “hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world”. However, it was unclear if the new bureau would oversee public broadcaster RTHK and the Government Information Service, as was earlier proposed by pro-establishment parties.