Hong Kong’s first female leader, Chief Executive-elect Carrie Lam, today announced her “new” Beijing-approved cabinet for her upcoming term, just over a week before she is due to take office. Many of the confirmed ministers are familiar faces, and the vast majority (like, 20 out of 21) are male. Ah, progress.
Lam’s cabinet, which has received approval from the State Council, will take office in July. Out of the 21 officials, six are incumbent ministers, four are incumbent deputy ministers who will be promoted to lead their own bureaus, and four are veteran civil servants.
The top three government officials — Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen, and Secretary for Finance Paul Chan – will retain their positions, as will the heads of the Environmental Department, Home Affairs Department, and Innovation and Technology Bureau.
Despite Lam’s talk on the campaign trail of having a cabinet diverse both in experience and gender, only one minister – Democratic Party founder Law Chi-kwong – has been recruited from outside the government, while only one woman, Professor Sophia Chan, has been appointed. Law and Chan will take the positions of Secretary of Labour and Welfare and Secretary of Food and Health, respectively.
The heads of the Immigration Department, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Audit Commission and the Police Force will retain their positions, while Deputy Customs Commissioner Hermes Tang will be promoted to commissioner.
Reception to Lam’s announcement has been tepid, with critics accusing her of “playing it safe” and being “CY 2.0”, a reference to the city’s deeply unpopular incumbent leader, Leung Chun-ying, who many see as a “puppet” of Beijing.
Among the issues faced by Lam and her cabinet in the coming five years are the highly controversial Article 23, an anti-treason law which while shelved in 2003, has been brought up again in recent years, the budding independence movement, and the housing crisis.
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