Hong Kong’s culture and transportation ministers have been sacked, by recommendation of Chief Executive John Lee, state news agency Xinhua has reported. Lee evaded questions during a Thursday press briefing as to why the duo were fired.
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung has been replaced by Mable Chan, the permanent secretary for the bureau.
Meanwhile, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung has been replaced by Rosanna Law, the director of housing.
Xinhua reported that The State Council of the People’s Republic of China, by chief executive Lee’s suggestion, removed Yeung and Lam from office and appointed their replacements. “The decision was made in line with the HKSAR Basic Law and based on the nomination and suggestion of HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee,” the State Council’s statement read.
Government biographies of incoming ministers – click to view.
Ms Mable Chan
Ms Chan joined the Administrative Service in July 1989 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 in April 2022. She has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Planning, Environment and Lands Branch, the former New Airport Projects Co-ordination Office, the former Chief Secretary’s Office, the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, the former Constitutional Affairs Bureau, the former Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau, the former Education and Manpower Bureau, the Education Bureau as well as the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau. She was Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services) from August 2016 to October 2017, Commissioner for Transport from October 2017 to July 2020, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport) from August 2020 to June 2022 and has been serving as Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport) since July 2022.
Miss Rosanna Law Shuk-pui
Miss Law joined the Government in July 1989. She served in the Labour Officer and Trade Officer Grades before joining the Administrative Service in July 1990, rising to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A in April 2022. She has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former Civil Service Branch, the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Constitutional Affairs Branch, the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, the former Trade Department and the former Environment, Transport and Works Bureau. She was Deputy Commissioner for Tourism from August 2010 to September 2016, Deputy Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs from September 2016 to September 2020, Commissioner for Transport from September 2020 to August 2023 and has been serving as Permanent Secretary for Housing/Director of Housing from August 2023.
Law, the incoming culture minister, took up the appointment as Director of Housing in August 2023. She sat on a task force in charge of formulating reforms to regulate Hong Kong’s infamous subdivided flats. Prior to that role, she was Commissioner for Transport.
Lee evasive over sackings
Speaking to reporters about an hour after news broke of the new appointments, Lee repeatedly evaded questions as to why Yeung and Lam were removed from office.
“I have been observing for some time, and also taken stock of what I plan to do in the future… I want a team and secretaries that will be able to deliver what I have in mind,” he said. “I want to create the best result in the shortest period of Hong Kong because we have lost time during Covid, we have lost time because of the 2019 riots and black violence.”
Lee gave similarly phrased answers when answering questions as to whether he found their performance lacking, or whether his criteria for choosing principal officials had changed.
He also did not address whether others would face the axe, including environment minister Tse Chin-wan, who oversaw the implementation of a controversial waste tax that was eventually shelved.
Lee lauded Chan and Law for their leadership qualities and proactivity, brushing aside concerns that Law might not have the professional knowledge in the arts and culture field.
“I think no-one can be a know-it-all – what’s important is her passion,” he said in Cantonese. “It’s not for her to know all the hands-on work, what’s important is for her to have leadership qualities.”
Embattled ministers
Yeung had been under fire in recent months over his role as culture minister, as the government pushed for a “mega-events” economy to reinvigorate the city’s economy.
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) last month issued a delayed blueprint for the city’s art and creative industries after Yeung was singled out in Chief Executive John Lee’s third Policy Address this October.
Lee named the embattled CSTB in his address for failing to release the “Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development,” adding that he had instructed Yeung to complete the task “as soon as possible.”
February’s Messi debacle – in which the football superstar failed to play at an exhibition match in Hong Kong – happened on Yeung’s watch.
Yeung’s bureau has been faced with an uphill battle to rebuild Hong Kong’s post-pandemic tourism appeal. During his tenure, Hong Kong saw a resurgence of Hongkongers “heading north” into mainland China for inexpensive dining and shopping, while local consumption faltered as Chinese tourists’ consumption habits shifted away from luxury shopping.
Kevin Yeung said in a Facebook post at around noon: “I thank everyone for their concern! The skies are vast, and the oceans are boundless, on to the next stage of life.”
Meanwhile, under outgoing transport minister Lam, the bureau has been tasked with regulating ride-hailing services such as Uber, and contending with misconduct and bad service among the city’s taxi drivers.
Both Lam’s and Yeung’s bureaux were established in 2022, spun off from a reorganisation drive, and adopted by chief executive Lee when he took office as the city’s leader.
Chief Executive John Lee will meet the press at 11:30 am on Thursday.
