Hong Kong’s leader has said he removed his tourism and transport ministers “after a period of observation” and praised the two incoming officials for their “reform mindsets”, leadership skills and proactive attributes.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu expressed confidence his two new appointees, Rosanna Law Shuk-pui and Mable Chan, would deliver better results with their ability to explain policies, saying both had also shown they were proactive as senior civil servants.
“I see the strengths of the two new appointed secretaries,” Lee said at a press conference on Thursday.
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“They will be assisting me more to realise my goal of ensuring results and also doing as much work as possible in the coming years.”
Earlier in the morning, in an unexpected move, the central government announced that the city leader “removed” his tourism minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung and transport secretary Lam Sai-hung.
Director of housing Law has been appointed to replace Yeung while transport permanent secretary Chan has taken over from her boss, Lam.
The announcement was first made in a Xinhua News Agency report on Thursday morning.
At his press conference, Lee praised Chan and Law, each of whom has more than 35 years of experience within the government, for their “reform mindset”, leadership, saying they both showed passion and dedication in delivering policies.
Lee said his decision was made after “a period of observation” to evaluate what would make his government more “effective and fulfilling”. He said he needed a team to catch up after Covid-19 pandemic and the 2019 protests, believing that both Chan and Law supported his policymaking direction and could take up more responsibilities.
“I appreciate the leadership, the articulation skills, and the proactiveness of Ms Chan and Ms Law. This is exactly what I need to ensure we will reach the best results and also to ensure good governance,” he said.
“I regard the importance of a leader being forthcoming, being able to anticipate problems, find solutions and also build up the team.”
He also expressed gratitude to the two outgoing officials for making their best efforts, wishing them “all the best and happy life”, but declined to comment on their job performance.
“All the people who have joined the government are patriots, and I thank them for all their work, but I want to do more in these two and a half years,” Lee added.
“I want to [recruit] people that will fit my criteria in building more results and ensuring the community understands and appreciates government policies.”
Meeting the press for the first time as a politically appointed official, Chan said she would demonstrate “innovation in technologies and policies” in implementing measures in the transport blueprint published last year and ensure the smooth transport arrangement as Kai Tak Sports Park.
Chan presented four policy focuses on her future work, including to “vigorously expand the aviation network” of the city, and adopt a more proactive and strategic approach to negotiate air services arrangements with other places.
Law said as she assumed office, she would liaise with relevant sectors to leverage Beijing’s favourable policies to Hong Kong. Her other priorities also included the smooth opening of the sports park and the National Games to be held next year.
A government source said Lee had planned to sack Yeung and Lam earlier this year, assessing them to be underperforming in their oversight of relevant sectors and lacking innovative policies to maintain the city’s competitiveness.
More from South China Morning Post:
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