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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Secretary for Administration and Chairman of the Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) Authority (WKCDA), Mrs Carrie Lam, at the question-and-answer session of a media session regarding the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer of the WKCDA today (July 21):
Reporter: For this being an arts project, is there no better alternative but Mr Pescod, who really doesn't really have much of an arts experience? And also, on the ministers appointments, would there be more besides Mr Paul Tang and Tsang Tak-sing out the door very soon?
Chief Secretary for Administration: Well, let's focus on WKCD first. As I have said, the WKCD project is a highly complicated mega-project. It requires a lot of attributes to manage this project well. But let's not just focus on one person, the Chief Executive Officer. We have members with a very strong arts background on the WKCD(A) Board, which will continue to provide the steer to this important project, and if you take into account the various committees under the Board and also the co-opted members, there is actually a large number of members who have this strong arts and culture background. And then secondly, as Michael has pointed out, over the past few years, particularly the four years under his leadership, the Authority has actually built up a very strong management team. We have Executive Directors managing the visual arts, the M+ museum, and also an Executive Director overseeing the performing arts side. Together with their professional staff, I have every confidence that we have a very strong arts team. Under the leadership of Duncan Pescod we'll continue to promote both the software and the hardware side of this very important project.
Reporter: She didn't answer my first question about would there be more ministers out the door. And do you personally feel that the team is shaky at this point?
Chief Secretary for Administration: I don't have any sort of the feeling that you have described, but it is not for me to comment on the individual circumstances of my two Principal Official colleagues. I understand that they will be issuing a statement to account for the situation.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:47
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