Hong Kong leader open to overhauling cabinet following protest crisis
An outdoor television screen shows Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam as pedestrians cross a road outside Chungking Mansions in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong on October 19, 2019. AFP-Yonhap
By Tony Cheung
Hong Kong's embattled leader hinted Saturday that she was open to reshuffling her cabinet, which includes ministers and advisers, but only after the months-long political crisis rocking the city died down.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also addressed allegations of police brutality in the handling of the unrest, saying the government would not tolerate violent or unlawful acts, including from members in the “disciplinary” forces.
Lam was speaking on phone-in programmes on RTHK and Commercial Radio, when she was asked about reforming her team of advisers while explaining proposals unveiled Wednesday in her policy address.
“I will not rule out the possibility, but I will decide when we have reached this stage,” she said.
She doubled down on housing as the root cause of public grievances while defending initiatives in her policy speech, saying they were intended to help first-time homebuyers and were unlikely to cause substantial price increases.
Under one major initiative, the government-backed Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation (HKMC) will relax restrictions for first-time buyers, raising the lending cap to HK$8 million (US$1 million) from the current HK$4 million for people borrowing up to 90 per cent of the value of a flat.
For someone buying a home at HK$8 million, the initial down payment will drop to HK$800,000, compared with the previous HK$2.4 million, with the HKMC providing up to 90 per cent of the flat's value. But monthly mortgage payments would increase to HK$28,919, based on an effective mortgage rate of 2.625 per cent on a 30-year maturity loan.
On the RTHK programme, a woman phoned in and said the initiative would only cause property prices to go up.
Pro-democracy lawmaker Gary Fan, center, is forcibly removed by security officials as he protests while Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam delivers her speech at a question and answer session at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. AP-Yonhap
“If my husband and I earn more than HK$70,000 a month, we still need to spend almost half of our monthly salary on [mortgage payments],” she said.
Lam responded that the mortgage initiative was intended to help high-income first-time buyers who can afford the mortgage payments.
“For other residents, we have a whole set of policies to help them … such as starter homes, public rental housing and subsidised housing units,” she said.
“Hong Kong's economy will enter a technical recession in the third quarter of this year, and trade, retail and catering figures have been dropping significantly. I believe that the property market might not heat up under these circumstances.”
In the policy address, Lam also said the Lands Resumption Ordinance would be invoked to take back sites being hoarded by developers and use them for housing.
Lam on Saturday dismissed suggestions she was trying to set local residents against developers.
“Land is very precious in Hong Kong … are we glad to see many land plots just idling there?” she asked.
Passengers on a tram watch demonstrators as they march down a street during a rally in the Central District in Hong Kong, Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the heart of Hong Kong on Friday afternoon in a "flash mob" gathering as part of continuing pro-democracy protests on the city. AP-Yonhap
On the Saturday RTHK programme, Lam also said she was relieved the murder suspect at the centre of the extradition bill crisis that led to the ongoing protests, wrote to her and offered to turn himself in to Taiwan authorities. Chan Tong-kai, 20, wanted on the self-ruled island for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, will be released Wednesday after serving time in Hong Kong for money laundering.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council also accused Hong Kong authorities Saturday for trying to evade responsibility of bringing Chan to justice. Insisting that it had done its part to investigate the case, the council insisted Hong Kong authorities had ignored its requests for help. During the radio programmes, Lam was also asked about alleged abuse of police powers, a dominant theme of the anti-government movement. The question for her came as on Friday, Chinese University president Rocky Tuan Sung-chi, under intense student pressure, condemned police for “any proven case” of brutality, saying he would urge Lam to launch an investigation into the treatment of about 20 arrested students.
Asked if she would condemn alleged police brutality, Lam on Saturday said: “The government will not tolerate any unlawful or violent act, including by the police … But Hong Kong's rule of law also relies on people obeying the law, and the public should condemn people's attacks on other residents, and vandalism of shops.”
Lam insisted that, rather than calling for a commission of inquiry on police behaviour, residents should wait for the Independent Police Complaints Council to complete its investigation into the protests and submit its report by the end of the year.
On a Commercial Radio programme, Lam also urged Tuan to encourage students to file their complaints through established mechanisms.
Lam again dismissed the suggestion that she take responsibility for the social unrest by stepping down. She added that she and her officials were focusing on their jobs not because they wanted to cling on to power but that they wanted to serve Hong Kong the best way they could.