City Beat | Carrie Lam has to hold on while Beijing ponders need for political qualities in Hong Kong’s next leader
- Communist Party plenum this week may provide some clues before chief executive reports to President Xi Jinping in December
- City’s next leader must have both personal charisma and unconventional political wisdom
Will embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor continue to hang on for the remaining three years of her term?
This is the multimillion dollar question that neither Lam nor, perhaps, Beijing has an answer to yet. But when rumours about Lam’s fate swept through Hong Kong last week, Beijing quickly dismissed the notion of any plan to replace her any time soon.
Political common sense tells there can only be two consequences of such speculation: on the positive side, Beijing’s strong denial signals that Lam is still pretty safe in her job; on a negative note, there is no smoke without fire, and this could well be the trial balloon from whatever anti-Lam group to test Beijing’s bottom line.
But instead of indulging in guessing about possible dark horses, there is a question worth asking: what qualities should Hong Kong’s next leader possess to take this crisis-ridden city forward?
To put it bluntly, does Hong Kong have any well-qualified political talent that deserves local people’s trust as well as Beijing’s endorsement?
