In Midst of Pandemic Carrie Lam Gets Pay Rise

Carrie Lam will be one of the highest paid leaders in the world... for what?

Over the past three years, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has demonstrated lacklustre leadership, particularly last year during the anti-government protests in which she hid behind the police to do her bidding, and now during the coronavirus, it is the community rather than her governance that has kept the numbers of positive cases relatively low.

So why does Lam deserve a pay raise of HK$120,000 for a salary of HK$5.2 million (US$670,671) a year?

She is one of the highest paid leaders in the world, more than US President Donald Trump (US$400,000 donated to charity), Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (around US$265,000), and UK PM Boris Johnson (US$96,800).

Last summer protesters demanded Lam step down

Lam's pay raise was revealed when the Civic Party's Tanya Chan Suk-chong asked about it as the Legislative Council prepares to vet this year's budget.

Considering Hong Kong's economy continues to be in free fall because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Eunice Yung Hoi-yan of the New People's Party asked if the chief executive could take a pay cut to show solidarity with Hongkongers, as tens of thousands of them have lost their jobs or had pay cuts.

The response? The government replied Lam and her ministers will make "timely responses" should the situation deteriorate.

Isn't the situation deteriorating already?

Granted on February 28, Lam, her cabinet and other top officials donated one month of their salaries which was around HK$10 million to charities under the Community Chest.

Lam and senior officials donated their salaries to charity

But a month later she gets a pay rise?

How bad are the optics on that? And what has she done for Hong Kong to deserve that?

Even pro-establishment lawmakers must be shaking their heads at this tone deaf move. If she can earn more money, why do us citizens have to wait until at least July to get our HK$10,000 handout?

Perhaps she can single-handedly stimulate the local economy with her higher salary?