John Lee makes 7 visits to top Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials on first day after winning leadership race
- Lee meets outgoing leader Carrie Lam, chief justice and Legco president, as well as heads of liaison office, national security office and foreign ministry office
- One focus of his talks with Lam was restructuring government, but Lee indicates he might make changes to the plan
Lee met outgoing leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the chief justice and the Legislative Council president, as well as the heads of Beijing’s liaison office, national security office, foreign ministry office and the Chinese army’s garrison in the city. Lam by comparison met six of these officials over a three-day period after winning in 2017.
His first stop was the Chief Executive’s Office at Tamar, where Lam and her former No 2 set out goals for ensuring a smooth transition of power, including overhauling government bureaus and departments to improve efficiency and better address the needs of residents.
“I am grateful to the chief executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, for meeting me today … The discussion was useful to ensure a smooth transition to the new term of government and we are working on a very tight schedule of some seven weeks from now to July 1,” he said after Lam delivered a 10-minute speech.
The former police officer turned top bureaucrat also noted they discussed key tasks to be accomplished in coming weeks.
“[This includes] the proposed government reorganisation package, the latest situation of Hong Kong’s work in fighting the coronavirus epidemic as well as activities celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR,” he said.
