Carrie Lam

Carrie Lam

Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥; Línzhèng Yuè'é; 13 May 1957 - ) is a Hong Kong politician. She has served as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong since 1 July 2017.

Quotes

• Some people have told me that the last of the eight [beatitudes] fits me very much: It says, 'Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice's sake,' because there is a place reserved for me in heaven. In fact, nowadays, as you work in the government, you are often criticised for doing what is just.
  • Carrie Lam (2015) cited in "'...there is a place reserved for me in heaven..' Chief secretary Carrie Lam raises eyebrows invoking holy scripture " on South China Morning Post, 2 November 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2020.

On resignation

• If mainstream opinion makes me no longer able to continue the job as chief executive, I’ll resign.
  • Carrie Lam (2017), responding to a question from the audience on her popularity once in the job. cited in "'‘I’d resign if mainstream opinion against me,’ Carrie Lam says as leadership rivals trade blows in debate" on South China Morning Post, 15 March 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2020.

• I would have this to say – that our primary responsibility is to find the right opportunity and create the necessary conditions for us to put into effect the local legislation, before we need a committee to ensure the legislation is being effectively enforced.
  • Carrie Lam (2018) cited in "Macau to form national security commission chaired by city’s leader as a ‘preventative measure’" on Hong Kong Free Press, 28 August 2018.

• I don’t want to spend your time, or waste your time, for you to ask me what went wrong, and why it went wrong. But for a Chief Executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable. It’s just unforgivable. If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology, is to step down. So I make a plea to you for your forgiveness.
  • from a leaked audio recording of a closed-door meeting with business leaders. Quoted by Reuters. "Hong Kong protests: read full transcript of Carrie Lam’s leaked ‘quitting’ talk" (September 2019) South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 May 2020.

2019 Hong Kong protests

• A small minority of people do not mind destroying Hong Kong's economy. They have no stake in the society which so many people have helped to build and that's why they resort to all this violence and obstruction, causing huge damage to the economy and to the daily life of the people.
  • Said at a press conference on 8 August 2019. Quoted by the RTHK. Protests hitting economy worse than Sars, says CE (9 August 2019) on the RTHK website. Retrieved 9 July 2019.

• Nothing is more important than the rule of law in Hong Kong.
  • Said at a press conference on 2 July 2019, the day after the storming of the Legislative Council by protesters. Quoted by the BBC. Hong Kong protests: China says protesters 'trample rule of law' (2 July 2019) on the BBC website. Retrieved 9 July 2019.

• There are still lingering doubts about the government's sincerity or worries whether the government will restart the process in the Legislative Council, so I reiterate here, there is no such plan. The bill is dead.
  • Said at a press conference on 9 July 2019 after the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Quoted by the BBC. Hong Kong extradition bill 'is dead' says Carrie Lam (9 July 2019) on the BBC website. Retrieved 9 July 2019.

• We believe the (Hong Kong) government should take the lead (by not wearing surgical mask unless those feeling unwell, working in frontline services or attending crowded places), so we have issued internal guidelines asking all departments to follow this in wearing masks. The goal is to save stocks for medical staff (to deal with patients infected with COVID-19).
  • Carrie Lam (2020) cited in "Coronavirus: Carrie Lam orders Hong Kong officials not to wear masks to save stocks for medical workers" on South China Morning Post, 4 February 2020.

Quotes about Carrie Lam

• We can imagine what is possible when we come together in this way by examining the response of Hong Kong’s protest movement to COVID-19. In 2019, a massive anti-government mobilization swept Hong Kong, with people opposing police and seeking greater control over their lives. By the time the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, had an 80 percent disapproval rating. Hong Kong’s protest movement had escalated significantly, with protesters coordinating sophisticated mass mobilizations, including the use of bold tactics like fighting police with poles, projectiles, laser pointers, and petrol bombs. Lam was remarkably non-responsive to the pandemic, despite the vulnerable position of Hong Kong, a densely packed city with a history of epidemics and a high-speed railway connection to Wuhan, where the COVID-19 pandemic started. Hong Kong residents criticized Lam for her delay in closing the city’s borders and her order barring city workers from wearing masks. But, despite the government’s failures, the people of Hong Kong, mobilized by the protest movement, launched a response that suppressed the original wave of COVID-19 and mitigated its resurgence...As a result of these efforts by a mobilized and coordinated movement, and no thanks to the government, Hong Kong had an immensely successful response to the first wave of COVID-19. Through the combination of mutual aid and direct action to force concessions, the protesters did what the government would not do on its own, saving untold numbers of lives.
  • Dean Spade Mutual Aid (2020)