Reshuffle To Boost CE's Fighting Power: Lau Siu-kai

A leader of Beijing's top think tank on Hong Kong, Lau Siu-kai, says this week's reshuffle of the SAR government's cabinet is aimed at strengthening the Carrie Lam administration's ability to fight political battles ahead, including September's Legco elections.

He said on Thursday that changes to the Executive Council might be the next move on the cards.

Lau's comments comes after Carrie Lam on Wednesday removed four senior officials and made five new appointments, around half way through her five-year term as Chief Executive.

This included switching Patrick Nip from his role as constitutional and mainland affairs secretary to become the new head of the Civil Service Bureau, replacing Joshua Law.

Lau, a vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said the Communist Party had already laid out a blueprint last October on how to govern the SAR, with the aim of upholding national security and ensuring that the power of the Hong Kong government does not slip into the hands of the opposition or "foreign forces".

He said the fact that there had been earlier reshuffles at the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong, means the Hong Kong government inevitably has to cooperate with Beijing's change in direction.

Lau said the reshuffle in the SAR administration is not about addressing calls for change from the opposition camp, but to restore and strengthen the pro-Beijing camp's support of the government.

He also told RTHK's Janice Wong that changes to the membership of the Executive Council could be next.

"As an important component of the top leadership of the government, some kind of reshuffle of the Executive Council might be expected, to make the members there take a higher profile in politics to support the government to rebut the arguments of the opposition," he said.

Lau added that with two years left in Lam's current term, he doesn't expect any more ministers to be replaced.