Xia Baolong Is Right About Democracy: Carrie Lam

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has endorsed comments made by Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office chief Xia Baolong that Hong Kong wasted time in seeking Western-style democracy, and that this pursuit brought more harm than good to the SAR.

Xia noted on Monday that Hong Kong people have never enjoyed democracy, but said they are about to get a form that suits the territory.

Speaking to reporters ahead of her weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, Lam was in agreement with Xia and said that by reiterating comments he had made previously, he "really brought out the significance of the improvements to the electoral system”.

“It is very timely for Mr Xia to relate what he said previously, for example we are only looking for people who are patriotic, we will not screen out people with a different political background, we will respect diversity, and the improved electoral system will return more Legislative Council members from a broad range of background,” she said.

“So now that we have the people right in front of us, we can sort of prove that what he said previously was accurate, because this is for all to see.”

Lam also referred to previous comments that she herself had made on democracy, that “no one size fits all”, adding that the purpose of a democratic system is to improve the livelihood of the people.

“What’s the point of having the so-called democracy if people are suffering, as you can see in some Western democracies in the course of fighting Covid-19?"