Ex-Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam needs office costing HK$9 million annually to match status, admin chief tells sceptical lawmakers
- No suitable government premises available when Lam finished her term as leader, Director of Administration Millie Ng tells lawmakers
- Following the end of Lam’s five-year term in 2022, the government rented a 2,874 sq ft grade A office for her in Pacific Place
Former Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor needs an office to match her status and no suitable government premises were available when her term ended, the government has said in justifying the HK$5.67 million annual rent for her workplace.
Director of Administration Millie Ng Kiang Mei-nei was responding to lawmakers’ concerns over a large expenditure of public money – HK$9.17 million – having been estimated for an office for a former chief executive in the 2023-24 financial year.
“My understanding was when there was the fourth former chief executive, the government had looked for different places to set up her office, but there were no suitable government premises,” Ng told a Legislative Council Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday.
“We also had to consider that the office had to match her status and operational needs. For example, among her work on promoting Hong Kong is to meet many political figures and delegations from the mainland and overseas, as well as for taking interviews.”
Ng also said the office had to be in the city centre, while overall security measures of the commercial property it was situated in had to be taken into account.
