Who will help John Lee run Hong Kong? A quick guide to old and new faces on his governing team
- Among 21 key figures appointed under Principal Officials Accountability System, seven are from incumbent administration and two have been promoted from undersecretary
- Another six are currently serving or recently retired civil servants, while further six are newcomers
Hong Kong’s incoming leader John Lee Ka-chiu announced on Sunday his newly formed cabinet which has been approved by Beijing, hailing it as a “diversified team” that showcased professionalism, commitment and international vision.
Among the 21 key figures appointed under the Principal Officials Accountability System, seven are from the incumbent administration and two have been promoted from undersecretary. Another six were currently serving or recently retired civil servants, while a further six were newcomers.
Here is an overview of the new administration.
The incumbent political appointees
Eric Chan Kwok-ki, who serves as director of the Chief Executive’s Office under the outgoing administration led by Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, will become Lee’s top aide as chief secretary. Unlike most of his predecessors who were seasoned bureaucrats, Chan was an Immigration Department official – and eventually its chief – before being made director of the office in 2017.
Four ministers will stay in their posts: Paul Chan Mo-po as financial secretary, Chris Tang Ping-keung as secretary for security, Erick Tsang Kwok-wai as secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, and Christopher Hui Ching-yu as secretary for financial services and the treasury.
Four top officials in the new administration have a background in the disciplinary forces. Erick Tsang and Eric Chan both served as Immigration Department chiefs, while Chris Tang was a former commissioner of police and Lee was deputy police commissioner in 2010 before he joined the security bureau in 2012.
Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung will take over as secretary for culture, sports and tourism, while development chief Michael Wong Wai-lun will be elevated as deputy financial secretary to oversee housing policies.
Two have been promoted from undersecretaries to secretaries: Christine Choi Yuk-lin, who will be the new secretary for education, and Tse Chin-wan, who will be secretary for environment and ecology.
Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee, Immigration Department Director Au Ka-wang and Customs and Excise Department Commissioner Louise Ho Pui-shan will also stay on.
The serving or retired civil servants
Six ministerial posts will be taken up by serving or retired civil servants, including four administrative officers and two from professional grades.
Permanent Secretary for Development Bernardette Linn Hon-ho will become secretary for development, Commissioner for Labour Chris Sun Yuk-han will head the Labour and Welfare Bureau, while Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Po-yan will be secretary for civil service.
Former permanent secretary for innovation and technology, Cheuk Wing-hing, who was once director of the government’s Dialogue Office during the protests that engulfed the city in the latter part of 2019, has been appointed deputy chief secretary.
Director of Architectural Services Winnie Ho Wing-yin will become secretary for housing, while Lam Sai-hung, the former permanent secretary for development, will serve as secretary for transport and logistics. Both Ho, an architect, and Lam, an engineer, are from the professional grades.
One of the recent projects Ho led was designing and building a temporary hospital in record time to care for Hong Kong’s Covid-19 patients.
Former permanent secretary for security Carol Yip Man-kuen, who worked closely with John Lee when he served as security minister, will be the new director of the Chief Executive’s Office. She was the former director of the Social Welfare Department.
Retired commissioner of correctional services Woo Ying-ming will take over from Simon Peh Yun-lu to head the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
The newcomers
Paul Lam Ting-kwok, former Hong Kong Bar Association chairman, will succeed Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah as secretary for justice.
Lam, a senior counsel by profession, who graduated from the University of Nottingham with a master’s degree in law, has held several public offices in Hong Kong, including his current role as chairman of the Consumer Council and membership of the Operations Review Committee for the Independent Commission Against Corruption. He also served for short periods as a deputy judge at the High Court on an annual basis since 2015.
A moderate who was elected as chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association in 2017, Lam was unseated a year later by Senior Counsel Philip Dykes while running for a second term in a highly charged election.
Two lawmakers from pro-Bejing political parties, Alice Mak Mei-kuen of the Federation of Trade Unions and Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, have been appointed as secretary for home and youth affairs and deputy secretary for justice, respectively.
Lawmaker Sun Dong, who is also chair professor of City University’s department of biomedical engineering, will become secretary for innovation, technology and industry, while legislator Nelson Lam Chi-yuen, an accountant, will be director of the Audit Commission. Lam had once contested in the accountancy sector in the 2012 Legislative Council election, with the backing of Paul Chan, who was also a former lawmaker representing the sector before he joined the government.
Sun is also the director of the university’s Centre for Robotics and Automation, with research interests in robotics and automation, as well as micro-robotics and manipulation for cell surgery.
The appointment of the four Legco members will trigger by-elections to fill their vacancies. Lee denied that his move to draw four lawmakers to the government reflected a limited talent pool, saying that the lawmakers and two other professionals from outside the government had their “own strengths, experiences and a strong will to serve Hong Kong”.
University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital chief executive Dr Lo Chung-mau will serve as secretary for health, replacing Sophia Chan Siu-chee. Lo, who is internationally renowned for his expertise in hepatobiliary surgery, liver cancer and liver transplants, is also the director of the Liver Transplant Center at Queen Mary Hospital.
Algernon Yau Ying-wah, CEO of Greater Bay Airlines, and the former chief of the now-defunct regional airline Cathay Dragon, will take over from Edward Yau Tang-wah as secretary for commerce and economic development.
