From Vox, an in-depth mauling of Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s hapless Chief Executive/Beijing puppet.
This is like shooting fish in a barrel – though the author tries hard to be fair, considering the subject is the haughty, disaster-wreaking bureaucrat ‘who accidentally sparked an uprising’. And as the profile mentions, Carrie pretty much admitted in leaked comments last year that she is not really in charge of Hong Kong. The last 10 months’ catastrophic campaign to force the city’s people to kowtow and obey is a Leninist obsession. To Beijing, her main role now is as a scapegoat who at some point will likely be paraded around town in chains before being ritually defenestrated.
But hey – it’s entertaining…
He [Lee Wing-tat] had never seen her laugh more than five times in 40 years… [and] said she became increasingly arrogant and “supercilious” as she climbed up the bureaucracy … dismissive of other people’s opinions…
…on Valentine’s Day in 2017 [before her quasi-election]… Lam’s husband wrote a public letter that wished her luck in “contributing to the implementation of ‘one country, two systems’”…
The article doesn’t attempt to analyze the tragic woman’s underlying personality issues. (Is she so intensely imbued with her childhood rote-learning ways that she can’t conceive of alternatives to what she is doing?) It would be interesting to know how, as a devout Catholic (let alone native, well-educated, non-plutocrat, one-time student activist Hongkonger) Carrie finds total loyalty to the CCP apparently so effortless. Maybe Civic Party boss Alan Leong was thinking about her this morning when he endorsed a Global Day of Prayer for Hong Kong:
Let us confess we have sinned, humble ourselves by admitting our arrogance and conceitedness and ask for forgiveness and blessings.
It should be noted that a fully-evolved democratic system, which is what a lot of the commentators here desire, does not guarantee that you won’t be encumbered with a shit female leader. Specifically, I draw attention to Theresa “Brexit-does-not-mean-Brexit” May and her period as the British PM between July 2016 and July 2019. Whether her or Carrie Lam did/does a better job of being in charge of their respective jurisdictions is, in my opinion, a difficult call.
I don’t think the transition from Catholic schoolgirl to CCP lackey is so hard to explain. Catholicism and Communism have in common that they both require you to believe what you’re told unquestioningly and not think for yourself. Once that habit of mind is cultivated, it can easily be transferred from one faith to another.
She’s probably in it for the money.
US$568,400 a year + benefits buys an awful lot of humiliation.
“It should be noted that a fully-evolved democratic system, which is what a lot of the commentators here desire, does not guarantee that you won’t be encumbered with a shit female leader. Specifically, I draw attention to Theresa “Brexit-does-not-mean-Brexit” May and her period as the British PM between July 2016 and July 2019. Whether her or Carrie Lam did/does a better job of being in charge of their respective jurisdictions is, in my opinion, a difficult call.”
Yes but in such a case it is easy for voters to sack them and hold them accountable, and it doesn’t matter if the leader is female or not so what is the point of that statement?
Also I have never seen a leader who was voted in by voters act as clueless as Carrie and out of touch with reality. Not even Trump.
See https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202003/12/P2020031200024.htm which is a HK Govt response to a US Govt commentary on HK.
Judging by the HK Govt spokesman’s descriptions and explanations of:
*police actions
*freedom of assembly
*freedom of expression
*standing for election
*voting for a Chief Executive
*political prosecutions
I must be living in a HK that is a parallel universe to the HK in which the Govt spokesman lives.
Mark Bradley: “Also I have never seen a leader who was voted in by voters act as clueless as Carrie and out of touch with reality. Not even Trump.”
Then you have obviously not heard or read Trump’s numerous comments on the coronavirus situation over the past two weeks
I would love to live in a jurisdiction where we’d only have ourselves to blame for electing bad leaders. It’s the difference between being abducted and choosing to live with a rubbish boyfriend. Anyway, Carrie’s irrelevant, she’s the monkey, not the organ grinder.
@C. Law
Thankfully, the political system here in Hong Kong limits the inputs of people like the one you have highlighted. In my opinion, the notion of giving all adults in the city a say in the way the pointy-end of the town is run is nuts. At the very least it needs to be restricted to the 49% of us whose IQs are above average, and better still those with a full appreciation of the system we are living in.
“Then you have obviously not heard or read Trump’s numerous comments on the coronavirus situation over the past two weeks”
Sorry. Still no where nearly as out of touch as Carrie. And Trump will have to face the voters anyway.
“Thankfully, the political system here in Hong Kong limits the inputs of people like the one you have highlighted. In my opinion, the notion of giving all adults in the city a say in the way the pointy-end of the town is run is nuts. At the very least it needs to be restricted to the 49% of us whose IQs are above average, and better still those with a full appreciation of the system we are living in.”
Wow you really think very highly of yourself. Kindly pull your head out of your ass. Funny how this supposedly “superior” governance model we that limits input from unworthy peons like myself here seems to create some of the worst governance imaginable. Also condescending remarks might satisfy your ego but intellectually speaking you’re running on empty.
Also I too can create multiple comment profiles and agree with myself. Great points @Mark Bradley!
“Catholics get on well with tyranny. It’s in the culture.”
Richard Morgan
@ Not Not Reactor #4
I wish I could say that I’m surprised you think so highly of yourself, especially after you’ve been downplaying the obvious economic and health threat that is the WuFlu, but…
I’m not.
Reactionary #4 should get together with Alex Lo and exchange tips on trolling techniques.
The bloke who in November was set on fire by the rioter knob-heads went home today.
https://hk.news.yahoo.com/%E9%A6%AC%E9%9E%8D%E5%B1%B1%E9%81%AD%E7%B8%B1%E7%81%AB%E7%94%B7%E5%AD%90%E5%9B%9E%E5%AE%B6%E4%BC%91%E9%A4%8A-%E7%A9%BF%E5%A3%93%E5%8A%9B%E8%A1%A3%E8%B5%B7%E6%B0%B4%E6%B3%A1%E6%B5%81%E8%A1%80-050700252.html
He has spent months in intensive care. Check the link and look at the reconstructed skin on his arms.
“Peaceful Protesters” – what a load of 4cking shit. You apologists cnuts should be ashamed.
Mark Bradley: “Sorry. Still no where nearly as out of touch as Carrie. And Trump will have to face the voters anyway.”
I am in no way an apologist for Mrs Lam, indeed I concur with most of the critcism laid against her on this blog and in other places. Nevertherless, Trump has proven to be at least as much out of touch with reality as Mrs Lam. Even his address to the nation this morning (our time) was given in such a monotone as to make it obvious that he was merely reading a prepared script with which he had no identification [cudos to whoever it was who actually persuaded him to try to make it sound as though he is finally taking it seriously].
Yes, he does have to face the electorate, but much depends on his opponent. The Democrats seem to be bent on giving him a walkover.
“Nevertherless, Trump has proven to be at least as much out of touch with reality as Mrs Lam.”
I’m willing to concede on that. Trump is without a doubt an out of touch knob. And yes I agree with you that the Democrats are bent on giving him a walkover and it is very disappointing. However if the US economy really does falter then Trump may very well lose anyway though Biden and his dementia isn’t exactly a very reassuring alternative.
@NNR4 – a high IQ is no guarantee of common sense and compassion, the two qualities sadly lacking in most of the world today.
I don’t think it’s rational to compare a handful of OTT reactions from radicals with the systematic brutalisation of protesters and innocent bystanders. Perhaps that’s why I’m a
f****** c***.
I admire the way in which that #4 geezer gamely seeks to demonstrate his superior IQ with his every contribution.
Unfortunately, this gives rise to a bit of a conundrum as the causes which he espouses and the opinions which he airs are those generally associated with people who, with the best will in the world, could not be described as terribly bright.
Perhaps he does this out of a touching desire to play down his considerable intellect; hiding his light under a bushel, as it were. Who knows?
It’s all very puzzling, but whatever the case, he really is awfully unpleasant.
I say chaps – most of us here hold views broadly aligned with those of Big L, and our comments – substantive or irreverent – are in that vein. Absent much by way of serious contrary views, we put up with the odd trolling effort from Dr Adams or R4.
But recently, there seems more froth than beer.
Can we hold off letting them drag us down to the bear pit that so many other forums become? Let them warble without response, unless such is actually of interest to the rest of us.