Carrie Lam file photo:VCG

 
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the incumbent Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), announced on Monday morning that she wouldn’t run for a second five-year term at the upcoming Chief Executive election, which will be held on May 8. 

Lam said during a press conference on Monday morning that she won’t seek the second five-year term due to family reasons, and she has expressed this intention to the central government in March 2021, which expressed respect and understanding for the decision.

Her term will end June 30, ending her 42-year career as a civil servant. 

She also expressed gratitude for the support of the central government, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the local government team, civil servants, and especially the trust of her family. 

Her future work includes organizing the CE election, continuing anti-epidemic work and summarizing the experiences, celebrating the 25-year anniversary of the city’s return to the motherland, and ensuring a smooth handover of local governance. 

Lam said she has notified the governance team, senior officials and Executive Councilors, and said so far she has not received any resignation requests from local officials. 

The election will be held on May 8, and the candidates are permitted to conduct election-related gatherings with the public from April 23, following the conditions imposed to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. 

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times in December 2021, Lam said the past four years or so may have been the most severe, challenging period for Hong Kong since its return to the motherland in 1997.

In those toughest moments, there were three forces supporting her - the support from the central government, her promise when she took office, and the support of her husband and two sons, Lam said during the interview. 

During Lam’s tenure, the city experienced unprecedented social turmoil in 2019, and about two years of the COVID-19 outbreak. Lam said during the press conference on Monday that given the stable political environment now, it is expected that the next government will deliver policies well, helping the city better integrate into the country’s future development.