Hong Kong’s leader: I’ve been a victim of cyberbullying over Lantau reclamation scheme, and so has Andy Lau
- Chief Executive Carrie Lam makes surprise claim during education symposium at University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s leader said on Saturday that she and superstar Andy Lau became victims of cyberbullying, after expressing support for land reclamation near Lantau Island.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was speaking at a symposium at the University of Hong Kong organised by think tank Education 2.1, along with other groups concerned about education matters.
As Lam highlighted the need to instil youngsters with a positive attitude towards life in the age of the social media, with many falling victim to cyber bullying, Lam surprised those attending by comparing herself and Lau to the younger generation.
“We are facing problems of internet addiction and cyber bullying, and recently, actor Andy Lau and I have become the target of bullies online, because we just so happened to share the same opinion on reclamation,” she said.
The chief executive has been heavily criticised after proposing in her policy address to reclaim 1,700 hectares of land to the east of Lantau, a plan government sources said could cost HK$500 billion.
Lam said the plan would create a residential and business hub, which could house up to 1.1 million people in the next two to three decades
Critics said the cost of the proposed islands – amounting to half of the city’s fiscal reserves – was unjustifiable. Others raised concerns about the environmental impact, and said the project would take too long to complete.
In tomorrow’s world, Lam sees a HK$500 billion artificial island in middle of the sea
Earlier in the month, Lau voiced his support for the move in a video produced by Our Hong Kong Foundation – which is led by the city’s first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa. The foundation proposes building a 2,200-hectare artificial island for housing to the east of Lantau as part of the reclamation efforts.
The singer-actor, who had, before this episode, been affectionately known as “the people’s chief executive” in Hong Kong, has since been slammed by internet users for voicing his support for Lam’s idea.
