Unapologetic over last year’s unrest and ready to get tough on the pandemic, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is ‘back to her old self’

In a wide-ranging interview with the Post, city leader says she ‘does not feel guilty’ about sparking last year’s protests, adding she has ‘regained confidence’ after low point

Vowing stricter anti-pandemic measures, Lam says she is weighing ‘whether the law can be enhanced to make certain things compulsory’

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam sits for an interview with the Post at the Government House in Central. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 8:39pm, 29 Nov 2020Updated: 3:20pm, 2 Dec 2020

She is back to her old self, confident in her leadership, unapologetic about what she has done to restore order, and more resolute than ever about fixing Hong Kong’s problems her way, regardless of the polarisation in society and the blame many continue to place on her for last year’s social turmoil.

That was the crux of the message from Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in a wide-ranging interview with the Post on Sunday.

Beginning with the escalating fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, on a day when the city reported an alarming surge of 115 new cases, Lam made it clear that her government would enforce stricter containment measures and impose tougher penalties on those who breached social-distancing rules.

“Having seen what we have seen in this latest wave, I do feel quite strongly that this is a time really to get tough,” she said, warning that the next two weeks would be “very critical”.

“In getting tougher with the people’s behaviour, with the business behaviour, I think there’s still room, whether the law can be enhanced to make certain things compulsory.”

As an example, she cited the current fine for breaking social-distancing rules: “I do feel that a HK$2,000 [US$258] fixed penalty ticket is no longer effective.”