The office of Hong Kong’s former chief executive, Carrie Lam, has cost more than HK$22 million of taxpayers’ money over the last two years, according to the Administrative Wing.
According to the Wing’s website, the government sets up offices for Hong Kong’s chief executives following the completion of their terms. The offices allow the former top officials to conduct activities, including “receiving visiting dignitaries and delegations, giving local and overseas media interviews, and taking part in speaking engagements.”
However, given that the Office of Former Chief Executives in the Mid-Levels can only accommodate three former chief executives, Lam sought another site—an office located above a luxury mall in Admiralty.
The Wing said in a Legco document Monday that the total expenditure for Lam’s office in 2021-2023 was HK$22.67 million.
Of which HK$16.12 million were recurrent expenditures, with 60 percent of them being rent and related expenses and 30 percent being staff-related expenses. The non-recurrent expenditure was about HK$6.55 million, which was mainly for renovation works, the document read.
The document also noted that the staff remuneration and staff-related expenses involved one senior personal assistant, one assistant clerical officer, one chauffeur and one staff member who was responsible for daily reception duties.
Records also showed that Lam attended more than 700 promotional or protocol-related functions in her capacity as the former chief executive in the past two years.
Meanwhile, the Administrative Wing said it has not kept any record on the respective utilization rates of the two offices in Central and Admiralty.
Hong Kong United Times丨香港聯合時報丨HKUT 