Lam government: Difference between revisions
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==National Anthem Bill== |
==National Anthem Bill== |
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{{main|National Anthem Bill}} |
{{main|National Anthem Bill}} |
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The Hong Kong government has proposed the local implementation of the National Anthem Law of the People's Republic of China. Lam dismissed the calls for a public consultation for the controversial bill as some provisions deemed as too vague by the pro-democrats. Lam stated that "I do not understand why one has to insist on the term 'public consultation'," calling the term only a "label". She also insisted the proposed bill only targets people who deliberately insult the national anthem and the residents not to worry about it.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2137650/no-need-formal-consultation-over-law-against-national-anthem|title=No need for formal consultation over law against national anthem abuse, says Hong Kong leader|date=17 March 2018|newspaper=South China Morning Post}}</ref> |
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The Hong Kong government has proposed the local implementation of the National Anthem Law of the People's Republic of China. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 10:17, 24 March 2018
Carrie Lam Government | |
|---|---|
 5th Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | |
 | |
| Date formed | 1 July 2017 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Xi Jinping |
| Head of government | Carrie Lam |
| No. of ministers | 16 |
| Member parties | DAB, BPA, FTU, LP, NPP |
| Status in legislature | Pro-Beijing majority |
| Opposition party | Pro-democracy camp |
| History | |
| Election | 2017 Chief Executive election |
| Legislature term | 6th Legislative Council |
| Predecessor | Leung government |
The administration of Carrie Lam as Chief Executive of Hong Kong, officially referred to as "The 5th term Chief Executive of Hong Kong" relates to the period of governance of Hong Kong since the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong headed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2022.
Election
In the 2017 Chief Executive election, Lam received 777 votes in the 1,194-member Election Committee, beating former Financial Secretary John Tsang's 365 votes and retired judge Woo Kwok-hing's 21 votes. Lam was the first female Chief Executive in history, higher than Leung's 689 votes in the last election. She also became the first Chief Executive elected without being the most popular candidate, as she had been trailing behind Tsang in the polls. She pledged to "heal the social divide" and "unite our society to move forward" in her victory speech.[1]
Lam received the appointment from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on 11 April 2017.
Transitional period
The Hong Kong government established the Office of the Chief Executive-elect ahead of the election with a controversial decision to site the temporary office in Hong Kong’s most expensive business area in Champion Tower on Garden Road, Central. Former postmaster general Jessie Ting Yip Yin-mei was appointed as the head of the office, who Internet users said looked similar to Carrie Lam.[2]
One day after Lam vowed to "heal the social divide" in her victory speech, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's government pressed charges against nine key players in the 2014 Occupy protests, immediately sparking controversy whether Leung embarrassed Lam. Leung also blocked Carrie Lam’s pledge to scrap Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) for Primary Three pupils.[3]
On 4 May 2017, former Director of Immigration Eric Chan was appointed the Director of the Office of the Chief Executive-elect as well as the Office of the Chief Executive she was sworn in after 1 July.[4]
Cabinet
Carrie Lam announced her new cabinet on 21 June 2017, with six incumbent ministers keep their portfolios including the three top secretaries.[5]
Ministry
Other posts
- ICAC Commissioner: Simon Peh
- Commissioner of Police: Stephen Lo
- Director of Audit: David Sun
- Director of Immigration: Erick Tsang
- Commissioner of Customs and Excise: Hermes Tang
Executive Council non-official members
| Members | Affiliation | Portfolio | Assumed Office | Left Office | Born In | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor="Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color"| | Bernard Chan | Nonpartisan | Non-official Convenor of the ExCo | 1 July 2012 | Incumbent | 1951 | |
| bgcolor="Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color"| | Laura Cha | Nonpartisan | Chairman of the Financial Services Development Council | 19 October 2004 | Incumbent | 1949 | |
| bgcolor="Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color"| | Arthur Li | Nonpartisan | Chairman of the Council of the University of Hong Kong | 1 July 2012 | Incumbent | 1945 | |
| bgcolor="Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color"| | Chow Chung-kong | Nonpartisan | Chairman of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing | 1 July 2012 | Incumbent | 1950 | |
| bgcolor="Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color"| | Fanny Law | Nonpartisan | Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks | 1 July 2012 | Incumbent | 1953 | |
| bgcolor="Template:Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong/meta/color"| | Jeffrey Lam | BPA | Legislative Council Member & Vice-Chairman of BPA | 17 October 2012 | Incumbent | 1951 | |
| bgcolor="Template:DABHK/meta/color"| | Ip Kwok-him | DAB | Hong Kong Deputy to the National People's Congress &
former Vice-Chairman of DAB |
17 March 2016 | Incumbent | 1951 | |
| bgcolor="Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color" | | Martin Liao | Nonpartisan | Legislative Council Member | 25 November 2016 | Incumbent | 1957 | |
| bgcolor="Template:LPHK/meta/color"| | Tommy Cheung | Liberal | Legislative Council Member, Chairman of Liberal Party | 25 November 2016 | Incumbent | 1949 | |
| bgcolor="Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color"| | Joseph Yam | Nonpartisan | Executive Vice President of the China Society for Finance and Banking | 1 July 2017 | Incumbent | 1948 | |
| bgcolor="Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color" | | Lam Ching-choi | Nonpartisan | Chairman of the Elderly Commission | 1 July 2017 | Incumbent | 1960 | |
| bgcolor="Template:New People's Party (Hong Kong)/meta/color"| | Regina Ip | NPP | Legislative Council Member & Chairperson of NPP | 1 July 2017 | Incumbent | 1950 | |
| bgcolor="Template:Path of Democracy/meta/color"| | Ronny Tong | Path of Democracy | Senior Counsel & Convenor of Path of Democracy | 1 July 2017 | Incumbent | 1950 | |
| bgcolor="Template:HKFTU/meta/color"| | Wong Kwok-kin | FTU | Legislative Council Member & former Chairman of FTU | 1 July 2017 | Incumbent | 1952 | |
| bgcolor="Template:BPAHK/meta/color"| | Kenneth Lau | BPA | Legislative Council Member & Chairman of Heung Yee Kuk | 1 July 2017 | Incumbent | 1966 | |
| bgcolor="Template:DABHK/meta/color"| | Horace Cheung | DAB | Legislative Council Member & Vice-Chairman of DAB | 1 July 2017 | Incumbent | 1974 |
Extra fundings
In her first week in office, Carrie Lam offered subsidies to around 40,000 secondary school leavers and promised permanent jobs for more than 2,300 teachers and promised that she would spend the extra HK$5 billion a year on education.[6]
In January 2018, Lam again handed out HK$500 million in extra funding to the Hong Kong’s public hospitals amid the deluge of winter flu cases and a severe shortage of nursing staff. The funds would be drawn by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority from its own reserve of HK$1 billion and would later be reimbursed by the government in the financial year 2018/19.[7]
Oath-taking controversy
The legal action by the former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen had resulted in the unseating of four more pro-democracy legislators, Leung Kwok-hung, Nathan Law, Yiu Chung-yim and Lau Siu-lai on 14 July 2017 after two pro-independence legislators Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching were ousted from the legislature earlier in November 2016. The event caused the quick deterioration of the relations between the pro-democracy camp and the government after the strained relations had been improved compared to Lam's predecessor.[8] Lam pledged she would not target more pro-democrats in oath-taking controversy.[9]
2018 candidates' disqualification controversy
In the 2018 Legislative Council by-election after the qualification, the candidacy of Demosistō standing committee member Agnes Chow, was invalidated by the returning officer as she claimed that "the candidate cannot possibly comply with the requirements of the relevant electoral laws, since advocating or promoting 'self-determination' is contrary to the content of the declaration that the law requires a candidate to make to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region]." The European Union issued a statement warning that banning Chow from the by-election "risks diminishing Hong Kong’s international reputation as a free and open society".[10] Carrie Lam defended the returning officer's decision, but denied that she had anything to do with the returning officer, stating that "there are absolutely no grounds for that sort of accusation or allegation of pressure."[11]
Express Rail Link co-location controversy
The proposed "co-location arrangement" of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link has sparked concerns that it might constitute a breach of the Hong Kong Basic Law and undermine Hong Kong's autonomy of "one country, two systems", participially with immigration control. Under the arrangement, mainland customs officers will be allowed to set up checkpoints and exercise jurisdiction at the West Kowloon Station.[12]
On 28 December 2017, the Hong Kong Bar Association criticised the arrangement for distortion of the Basic Law, stating it damages the rule of law in Hong Kong as Article 18 was clearly written and leaves no room for any interpretation which would allow Chinese law to apply in any certain part of HKSAR. Since there is no legal basis, confidence in the "one country, two systems" principle will decline.[13] The Hong Kong government has defended the co-location agreement, stating that rule of law isn't damaged nor does undermine the Basic Law.[14][15] Carrie Lam responded to criticism by stating "some Hong Kong legal professionals have an elitist mentality or double standards, that is, they think that Hong Kong’s legal system is supreme, and that the mainland legal system – a big country with a 1.3 billion population – is wrong." Her statement prompted widespread disbelief as she appeared to defend China's legal system being better than Hong Kong's legal system, hypocrisy as she herself is seen as an elite out of touch with society, damaged the One Country, two systems principle and for attacking the character rather the arguments of Hong Kong's top lawyers.[16]
National Anthem Bill
The Hong Kong government has proposed the local implementation of the National Anthem Law of the People's Republic of China. Lam dismissed the calls for a public consultation for the controversial bill as some provisions deemed as too vague by the pro-democrats. Lam stated that "I do not understand why one has to insist on the term 'public consultation'," calling the term only a "label". She also insisted the proposed bill only targets people who deliberately insult the national anthem and the residents not to worry about it.[17]
References
- ^ "'The work of uniting society begins now': Carrie Lam pledges to heal Hong Kong's divide". South China Morning Post. 26 March 2017.
- ^ "Hong Kong government finally sets up office for chief executive-elect after controversy over cost". South China Morning Post. 20 March 2017.
- ^ "Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung blocks Carrie Lam's pledge to scrap TSA". South China Morning Post. 28 March 2017.
- ^ "Hong Kong chief executive-elect Carrie Lam puts former head of immigration in charge of office". South China Morning Post. 4 May 2017.
- ^ "Next Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announces her new cabinet". South China Morning Post. 21 June 2017.
- ^ "Hong Kong's new leader doles out extra billions in education spending spree". South China Morning Post. 6 July 2018.
- ^ "Swamped Hong Kong hospitals to get HK$500 million to handle winter flu emergency". South China Morning Post. 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Hong Kong pan-democrats warn of Legislative Council turmoil". South China Morning Post. 18 July 2017.
- ^ "I won't target more Hong Kong pan-democrats in oath-taking saga, Carrie Lam says". South China Morning Post. 15 July 2017.
- ^ "Hong Kong's leader rejects foreign criticism over barring of democracy activist Agnes Chow from legislative by-election". South China Morning Post. 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Hong Kong's leader rejects foreign criticism over barring of democracy activist Agnes Chow from legislative by-election". South China Morning Post. 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Why we shouldn't stick to the co-location arrangement". EJ Insight.
- ^ "Beijing's 'distortion' of Hong Kong Basic Law greatly undermines rule of law, legal experts warn". Hong Kong Free Press. 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Gov't advisor Ronny Tong: Beijing's joint checkpoint justification does not harm rule of law". Hong Kong Free Press. 29 December 2017.
- ^ "Prescribed boundaries ensure joint checkpoint's legitimacy". China Daily. 8 January 2018.
- ^ "'Rule without law': Hong Kong lawyers hit back as leader Carrie Lam attacks 'elitist mentality'". Hong Kong Free Press. 2 January 2018.
- ^ "No need for formal consultation over law against national anthem abuse, says Hong Kong leader". South China Morning Post. 17 March 2018.
