Race for city’s top job intensifies as Chief Secretary slams studies on ageing population by group formed by former finance chief
STUART.LAU@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Tuesday, 13 December, 2016, 7:22pm
Former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa giving Chief Secretary Carrie Lam a hug during a ceremony to commemorate the Nanjing massacre on Tuesday. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Hong Kong’s No 2 government official Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has launched a pointed attack on a report conducted under the purview of former finance chief John Tsang Chun-wah, turning up the heat between the two presumed front runners for the city’s top job.
At a forum on ageing population organised by a think-tank founded by former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa on Tuesday, Chief Secretary Lamcalled attention to the studies by the Long Term Fiscal Planning Working Group. The group was formed in 2013 by Tsang, who stepped down as financial secretary on Monday.
Lam – who vowed to reconsider her position a day after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying made his bombshell announcement of not seeking re-election– cited two passages from the report.
One of it stated that “an expanding and ageing population will put pressure on social welfare and health services expenditure”.
She also noted another paragraph: “With the population ageing, the size of the labour force is set to decline, posing a threat to, if not dragging, economic growth and putting pressure on government revenue.”
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Lam, who in recent months has highlighted her efforts to help elderly people, went on: “So the elderly somehow has been associated with threats, and pressure and dragging our economic growth, which is most unfair.”
Tung, who was present at the forum, had earlier that day also attended a event to commemorate victims of the Nanking Massacre. At that event, he gave Lam a warm hug in front of cameras and she returned it with a wide smile, sparking speculation that the seasoned statesman with connections to Beijing’s inner core might be backing the chief secretary in next year’s election.
Tung, currently vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, is believed to be behind Leung’s 2012 victory, which saw the defeat of front runner Henry Tang Ying-yen.
At the ageing population forum, Lam also praised Tung for still being in the workforce despite being well past the retirement age.
On both occasions, Tung declined to comment on the chief executive race.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2054255/hong-kong-chief-secretary-carrie-lam-slams-report-ageing
