To the point
Former chief secretary for administration Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor shared her aspirations about the future of Hong Kong from a Chief Executive election candidate’s point of view on Thursday with some local women at a meeting hosted by the All-China Women’s Federation Hong Kong Delegates Association. Lam is the only female candidate now in the CE race. She has 579 nominations and has been the public’s favorite so far. She has every right to be confident about her ability to lead the SAR government. Therefore it is only fitting that she agrees women deserve more career opportunities. Lam is more than willing to make this happen.
Many people believe Lam will make a competent CE simply because she has what it takes — not just her rich experience as chief secretary and many senior administrative roles before that but also her many accomplishments as a career woman and also as a loving wife and mother. This is why she has not used the “gender card” and her critics know better than to call her out on this issue. It is fair to say she is an outstanding example of Hong Kong women and what they are capable of achieving when they are given the opportunity.
Despite its modern look and sensitivity to what is in and what is out, Hong Kong has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to gender equality — beginning with the government hierarchy. One may argue that it has been like this for ages and people are used to it, but this does not mean it is right or acceptable. It is bad enough to ignore gender inequality, but it is worse to pretend it is no big deal. Lam was not the first woman to hold the second-highest office in the SAR government. But she can and should be the first to take a step higher, because she is the most qualified.
Apart from her overall qualities and capabilities, Lam’s election campaign platform also speaks volumes about her leadership ability. Many commentators and observers agree she has presented the best policy package out of what we have seen in terms of completeness and attention to detail where necessary. Some people may not care but this is another reason why women can do and have done better than men as heads of government.
Maybe that is why the pro-opposition media have been stressing political rivalry to advertise their “chosen” ones over Carrie Lam. Some points they emphasized can be understood as willingness to make the “pan-democratic” camp happy, but they forgot to consult the public about such matters. Members of the CE Election Committee should listen to real people — not rigged opinion polls.