Carrie Lam's Disjointed Administration

Financial Secretary Paul Chan says he needs to readjust his budget

This week Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor went rogue, announcing a slew of measures worth HK$10 billion in the hopes of assuaging concerns of the elderly and disadvantaged in the current tension-filled climate.

However, Lam didn't consult anyone about her plans, not even advisors in Exco, let alone her colleagues in her cabinet. If Lam thinks this is leadership, she's got it all wrong.

Carrie Lam announced a raft of measures without consultation

As a result, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po hinted he will have to scale down his plans for the upcoming budget in order to pay for Lam's announcement. In a forum today organized by RTHK, Chan said he had to find resources to fund the 10 new welfare measures his boss unveiled, which would impact the one-off sweetners he was going to put in his budget to be released next month.

"Year after year, we have rolled out one-off relief measures, be it salaries and profit tax rebate, rates rebate, or other expenditure items," he said. "The total amount ranges from HK$20 billion to more than HK$60 billion, which is quite substantial.

"Some of these may perhaps be adjusted to accommodate the funding requirements of some additional measures as recently announced by the chief executive," Chan said.

It makes one wonder how Lam can make such big fiscal announcements without telling anyone beforehand. While Hong Kong does have a lot of reserves (and is saving tens of millions of dollars from cancelling not just one but two fireworks for New Year's last month and Chinese New Year), it doesn't mean that money can just be spent without consultation beforehand.

Chan ruled out giving cash handouts to residents

Some of the 10 measures include lowering the age for using public transport for just HK$2 per ride from 65 to 60 years old, and giving out housing subsidies to those who have waited for a public flat for more than three years.

Not many people were impressed by Lam's announcement, from opposition lawmakers to ordinary folk. Will she go back to the drawing board and reconsider her sweetners or trudge on?

During the forum, some people asked for a cash handout, with one young man even asking for HK$10,000 per eligible resident. However, Chan seems to have heard this request more than once.

"People may get angry if the handout is too little... We have to consider that very carefully, taking into account the fiscal burden."

Hong Kongers will continue to protest for their demands

At this point people don't seem to care what fiscal burdens the government is going through since it has no qualms paying a massive HK$950 million overtime bill to the police for their work since the anti-extradition protests started last June.

Of course Chan got an earful from some people in the audience about how the government has handled the protests that have gone on for over seven months. He also reaffirmed Lam's response that there would not be an independent inquiry into police brutality since she didn't think the police mishandled protesters.

Following the November District Council elections with a landslide victory for the pro-democracy side, it's kind of a bizarre situation where the leadership is not in concert with what most citizens want. 

We're looking forward to what Chan has in store for us in his budget... not.