Beijing did not dictate Policy Address, Carrie Lam insists

The Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor insisted today Beijing had not dictated her Policy Address, but that she consulted the central government on "a list of issues,'' she had proposed about two months ago.

"I am not consulting Beijing on the Policy Address. I am compiling my own Policy Address as the Chief Executive,'' she said, responding to suggestions the central government had a hand in the policy blueprint. She had postponed the address two days before it was to be delivered in October and then visited Beijing for consultations with ministers. She then went on to Shenzhen.

"It is clear to everyone that if we want our economy to boounce back, there is no better place than the mainland China for us to tap into, because other parts of the world are still struggling with the pandemic, with high unemployment, with economic slowdown and so on,'' she explained in a live briefing.

"A couple of months ago, I put forward to the central government a list of issues I feel are important to help revive the Hong Kong economy. They may not be immediate measures, but they will help the economy to grow and give Hong Kong people more confidence at this difficult time. Consulting Beijing was on those individual measures. It's not on the Policy Address.'' -The Standard.