Carrie Lam has reason to walk tall
Inequality rather than want is the cause of social troubles. This traditional wisdom proved itself again when Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor came up with a draft plan in her maiden Policy Address in October to subsidize certain commuters. The proposed public transport subsidy scheme rankled many, who cried foul for being excluded from its coverage. But the refined proposal, as unveiled by Lam on Tuesday, extended the benefit to almost all public transport modes available in the city, to the satisfaction of everyone.
Understandably, policy ideas tend to be imperfect and are subject to refinement when they are initially conceived. Being a draft when it was first floated in October, the public transport subsidy proposal is no exception. Originally, it only covered public transport such as the MTR, franchised buses and green minibuses and excluded many other modes such as estate shuttle buses, staff coaches and short-distance ferry services — probably for technical reasons.
But the revised proposal, which has taken into account feedback the relevant authorities collected from the public and players in the transport sector in the past two months, has been extended to cover almost all public mass-transport modes. The relevant authorities will need to come up with plans to tackle technical issues anticipated with implementation of the scheme on certain transport modes, particularly those run by private operators. The revised proposal and the efforts to tackle technical issues so more commuters will benefit are undoubtedly further evidence that Lam’s administration is responsive to public opinion.
The plan, which will benefit about 2.2 million commuters and entails an annual public budget of HK$2.3 billion when implemented after legislative approval, is also testament to Lam’s consistent policy direction. Improving the livelihood of residents, particularly the low-income strata, is another key policy priority — aside from tackling the housing shortage and further developing the economy — Lam categorically set in her election manifesto and advocated during her campaign trail.
Within a few months of taking over the helm of the special administrative region on July 1, a raft of measures and efforts have been taken by the administration to promote innovation and technology development in the city in its drive to diversify the economy and enhance its overall competitiveness. On the housing front, the government-appointed Task Force on Land Supply has been in full gear working on proposals to augment land supply for housing. On the eve of her duty visit to Beijing on Wednesday, Lam has reasons to walk tall in front of the public and speak confidently to members of the opposition. She definitely can say with confidence — as she did on Tuesday in response to opposition criticism — that the government has never and will never do anything that would hurt the overall interests of Hong Kong people.