Carrie Lam accused of hijacking union rally to drum up support for political reform package
Lawmaker attacks chief secretary for speaking out for reform package at union event, while an analyst calls it sign of government desperation
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was accused yesterday of hijacking a rally organised by the city's biggest labour union to promote the government's political reform package.
Chinese University political scientist Dr Ma Ngok said Lam's move showed how desperate the government was to win public support.
Lam made the surprise appearance in the rally at Tamar Park after a Labour Day march by the Beijing-loyalist Federation of Trade Unions.
The rally was originally scheduled to end after a police officer represented the government in receiving the federation's petition on labour rights. But the federation's president, Lam Shuk-yee, raised eyebrows when he announced that a government official was coming to "listen to the workers' political demands".
The unionist and about 20 FTU lawmakers and leaders then braved the rain and chanted slogans for about 10 minutes calling for universal suffrage in 2017, before Carrie Lam arrived in her car and addressed the rally.
Referring to the government's reform package unveiled on April 22, Lam said: "Do not listen to those who said that the proposal is fake universal suffrage, because it is a real and competitive one … It will give five million eligible voters a vote, and 'one man, one vote' means the chief executive and his cabinet will be closer to public opinion."
