Recently, “piggybackers on Carrie Lam” from within the pro-establishment camp have been on the move. The first one is Fung Wai-kwong, a lackey from Leung Chun-ying’s camp. He pointed out that Carrie Lam is short of leadership, and he worries that in her trip to Beijing, if her entourages, who work the Chief Executive who implemented such measures against the coronavirus pandemic, are unfortunately infected, the leaders of the Central Government and the officials in Beijing will be got into trouble. He also expressed the Chief Executive trusts too readily the traditional meritocrats who are biased against the mainland, which makes him “wring his hands”. Then Poon Lai-king took up where Fung left off in relays. She accused Lam of not knowing how to fight the plague and adopting archaic means. Heavy gunner Wat Wing-yin followed. Distancing herself from Lam, she penned an article titled “I’m not pro-establishment” published by the Headline Daily, conveying that she has been witnessing Lam’s incompetence in administration for three years. She said even though she used to trust her, “she has now proven to be wrong”. She also indicated she has to “make a U-turn”, as well as criticizing the Policy Address for being a manifestation of Lam at her wits’ end to know what to do with the plight Hong Kong is in. Yu Pun-hoi, the owner of WeMedia01 and allegedly from Xi’s clan, also wrote to lash out at Lam for lacking the capability of making political judgements, not seeing clearly the true nature of problems, hence being good for nothing, despite being an unwavering warrior.

A featured coverage by the Sing Tao Daily is the latest one. Lam was going to report on her work in Beijing, but was told at the last minute her trip to Beijing had been called off. The Sing Tao Daily cited an informant pointing out there are three possible reasons why Lam’s trip was canceled at the eleventh hour: the top leaders are too busy to meet her; in light of a plethora of anti-epidemic affairs to tackle, there is nothing to deliberate on at the meeting; with the risk of infection in Hong Kong is higher than the mainland, they would rather adjourn the meeting if nothing necessary. In short, she was cold-shouldered. Turning out at the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone last time, she had already been seated in a corner, which everybody was abuzz about. 2021 is the year of the race for the post of chief executive. Is it the case that there have been some contenders that can’t wait?

Among a mass of articles critical of Lam, the one by Yu Pun-hoi is best structured. It does not only capitalize on the anti-epidemic measures to pour out all the discontents, but focuses on whether Lam, who lacks leadership and the capability of making political judgements, should step down, which is unambiguous and spot on. Yu did not complain about as many things as he could or take advantage of the criticism of Lam to make a clean break with the past. Lam is of the opinion that everything would be back to normal after the Central Government puts down the disturbance. Yu said: “If it is thought that Hong Kong would be back to stability and prosperity and horse racing and dancing would go on after the upheaval is curbed, one talks idiotic nonsense. At an interview open to public, the Chief Executive professed herself having been back on her feet, implying she will continue to be ‘an unwavering warrior’. I hope she ‘sees clearly’ before she goes on being ‘an unwavering warrior’. When the amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance was tabled, obviously she thought she was ‘an unwavering warrior’. But because she did not ‘see clearly’, it ended up bringing about the upheaval…inasmuch as the Central Government proactively took it on, providing her with empowerment, did she know she should have come to a halt to ‘see clearly’? If she keeps on not seeing clearly, it is highly likely she would have to squander her political life on it. By then, whether she is ‘an unwavering warrior’ is already irrelevant.”

The diction in the article is extraordinarily harsh, which is tantamount to an open warning to her. What blunder has Lam committed? Has she not complied with any instructions given by the Central Government? What was it? No one has uttered a word about it. If it was about the failure to contain the epidemic, it should have been made use of in criticisms of her as early as in February. She has even done more than she is supposed to do in cracking down the opposition camp: people are arrested by the day; people go into exile every so often; the opposition camp at the LegCo has been weeded out. What else can she be criticized for? If Lam is expected to solve the deep-seated problems with a sweeping reform, it will be like reaching for the stars to her. Ostensibly, she has the power in her grip; actually, she is just a political maidservant. If there is really any “reform blueprint to solve the deep-seated problems”, the Central Government might as well dispatch a working team to get it done in Hong Kong. In any case, it is not news anymore to Hong Kong people that “one country, two systems” has already come to a full stop.

After all, it is about power struggle. Different forces are believed to be bringing in the post-Lam era in high gear.

(Lau Sai-leung, political commentator)

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