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Transcript of remarks by Chief Executive-elect (with photos/video)
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Following is a transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive-elect, Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Director of the Chief Executive-elect's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at a media session this morning (May 4):
 
Chief Executive-elect: I'll say a few words in English and then I'll invite Eric to say a few words.
 
     First of all, welcome to the Office of the Chief Executive-elect. I am extremely pleased to be able to announce this morning that the Chief Executive-elect's Office has appointed Mr Eric K K Chan as the Director of the Chief Executive-elect's Office. His term of office will take immediate effect, that is from today until the 30th of June, 2017. The position and the responsibilities of the Chief Executive-elect's Office Director are very important. He has to assist me in preparing for the next term of Government in ensuring a smooth transition between the current and the next term of Government in liaising with the large number of stakeholders in the community, including the Legislative Council Members, and of course in liaising also with the local and overseas media, to ensure effective governance in the next term of the Hong Kong SAR Government.
 
     I am sure many of you will know K K, because he has been the former Director of Immigration. Like myself, K K has been in the public service for over 30 years. As I have said publicly on previous occasions, my criteria in forming the team, or in finding candidates to fill important positions in the team, are really people who are committed to Hong Kong, who have the ability and the compassion to serve the people of Hong Kong, and in these aspects K K perfectly fits the bill and so I am extremely pleased to have him on board.
 
     So I'll now invite K K to say a few words.
 
Director of the CEEO: First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mrs Lam for her trust on me. I support her very much because I totally agree with her new style of governance, her initiatives in her manifesto, and I deeply believe that under Mrs Lam’s leadership, Hong Kong will have a better future. So I am happy to be a member of her team. In fact, when I was still the Director of Immigration, Mrs Lam gave me the impression that she is very supportive of disciplined forces. And obviously, all disciplined services are very supportive of her as well. So when she suggested to offer me such a position, I agreed immediately without any hesitation. I hope from now on, I still rely on all the media friends to help us to publicise or to promote our policy anything we need to inform public, I still need your help.
 
Reporter: Mrs Lam, is it likely for Mr Chan to stay as the Director of your office after July 1st? And how's your progress in forming your cabinet?
 
Chief Executive-elect: It is the plan and of course the intention to invite Mr Chan to stay on as the Director of the Chief Executive's Office from the 1st of July, but at the moment what I have just announced is appointment between now and the end of June 2017, so all the appointments starting from the first of July will be dealt with later on. But since the position of the Director of the Chief Executive's Office is not one of those Principal Official positions that according to the Basic Law the Chief Executive will nominate but the appointment has to be made by the Central People's Government, so I can tell you quite confidently now that you will be seeing Mr Chan as the future Director of the CE's Office.
 
     As far as the forming of the team, which will include the three secretary positions and the 13 bureau chiefs, good progress has been made in the last month or so, and I will continue to meet with people who share my philosophy and who are committed to serve Hong Kong with a view to completing this process as soon as possible. But of course the completion of process as far as the Chief Executive-elect is concerned is to find all the names and then nominate these names to the Central People's Government for consideration for appointment. So at the moment I can only tell you that good progress has been made and I aim to finish this process as soon as possible.
 
Reporter: My question was … you were elected in an election in which you were arguably the less popular of two candidates, at a time when Hong Kong society is unprecedentedly polarised. What would you say to those Hong Kongers, particularly those young Hong Kongers, who question your ability to heal the rift at a very uncertain time in Hong Kong?
 
Chief Executive-elect: Well, first of all, I was elected in strict accordance with the law, both in terms of the Basic Law and the local electoral legislation, so my legitimacy to become the next-term Chief Executive should not be doubted. But, as I have said on many occasions, I am humbled by the experience of running this campaign to contest in the Chief Executive election, and I am very acutely aware of some of the problems that Hong Kong is facing – the rift, the tension, the polarisation of views that you have described – and I will do my utmost to unify society and to bring Hong Kong back to its normal course of development, because I think that is the aspiration of the great majority of Hong Kong people. And insofar as young people are concerned, I have put in a lot of emphasis in my election manifesto on addressing the aspirations or sometimes the unhappiness of our young people and try to provide them with as many opportunities as possible for upward social mobility. So, together with my team from the first of July, 2017, that is going to be one of our policy priorities. Thank you very much.
 
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
 
Ends/Thursday, May 4, 2017
Issued at HKT 13:24
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Today's Press Releases  

Photo

The Chief Executive-elect, Mrs Carrie Lam (left), is pictured with the Director of the Chief Executive-elect's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki (right).
The Chief Executive-elect, Mrs Carrie Lam (left), is pictured with the Director of the Chief Executive-elect's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki (right).

Audio / Video

Appointment of Director of Chief Executive-elect's Office

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