Anson Chan on ‘unhappy’ Carrie Lam: ‘I probably would have departed long ago’

Former government No 2 Anson Chan Fang On-sang had some pointed words about the current incumbent, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, saying Lam appeared upset at the way the government's political reform package had been rolled out but was stuck "between a rock and a hard place".

Chan said she would probably have quit if she were Lam.

Her comments to students and academics at the University of Cambridge in England on Monday came two years after she suggested that Lam, whom she had hailed as committed to Hong Kong and passionate about her work, was not properly utilised.

"Carrie has no power even though you can see, reading between the lines, she is very unhappy actually with the whole way this consultation and the package of the constitutional proposals" has been presented, Chan said.

Lam is spearheading the government's campaign in support of the electoral reform proposals unveiled last week. The package, based on a framework set by Beijing, stipulates that chief executive candidates must win majority support from a 1,200-strong nominating body, which will put forth just two or three options.

"If I were in her shoes, I would probably have departed from that post long ago. But [having] come to this stage, I think she is between a rock and a hard place because now she cannot simply get up and go," Chan said.