Carrie Lam urges Hong Kong youth to work for change from within in RTHK appearance

Chief executive says own experience working in government for 41 years proof of what can be accomplished by joining establishment

Lam also praises city’s ‘unsung heroes’ at ninth annual Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam urged Hong Kong’s youth to work for change from within the system in an interview that aired on Wednesday. Photo: RTHK

Published: 11:39pm, 27 Oct 2021Updated: 8:57am, 28 Oct 2021

Young Hong Kong residents hoping to change society can do so from within the system, city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has said, pointing to her own 41 years of public service and status as a former “student activist” as proof.

The exhortation to the city’s youth came during the second episode of the RTHK series Overview Policy, a programme dedicated to reviewing her administration’s track record since 2017.

Filmed before she fractured her elbow in a fall at Government House last week, the Wednesday episode of the Chinese-language programme focused on Lam’s recent policy address – the last of her current term – along with her views on youth policy and a range of other subjects.

Appearing on the show for the second straight week, Lam said she was satisfied with her administration’s efforts to give the city’s young people a greater voice in local affairs, noting they had actively recruited them to serve as members of government advisory bodies.

“[These young people] are of very high quality, and they do care very much about Hong Kong. What we should do is to promote that caring attitude among our young people. If you care about Hong Kong, you won’t do anything that will ruin Hong Kong,” she said in an apparent allusion to the 2019 protest movement.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (centre) poses with winners and judges from the ninth annual Spirit of Hong Kong Awards on Wednesday. Photo: May Tse

Lam said she considered herself a “student activist” during her university days.

“If I wanted to push for change in society, there were two paths for me to take when I left university 41 years ago. One was for me to [fight for ideals] from outside [the government], as a social worker or whatever. The other was to join the establishment.