Unpacking John Lee’s firing of 2 ministers: Hong Kong needs a win

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s firing of two ministers and replacing them with new faces is part of a gambit to minimise any damage to his government’s standing and even secure decisive short-term wins on the tourism and aviation fronts as emphasised by Beijing, analysts said.

They also said his move on Thursday to remove tourism and transport ministers, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung and Lam Sai-hung, right in the middle of his term aligned with his “result-oriented” governing approach.

Lee’s administration has put revising the economy and improving livelihoods through “reforms” high on the agenda after enacting the city’s domestic national security law.

Hong Kong’s position as an international centre for finance, shipping and trade as well as a prominent talent hub were underlined in plans laid out at the third plenum in July.

But amid such ambitions, the city’s balance sheet remains poor, with finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po saying earlier this week the deficit would be more than double an initial projection of HK$48 billion (US$6.16 billion) for the 2024-25 financial year.

“Lee wants to provide needed short-term stimulus to the economy by leveraging the tourist and transport sectors,” said Lau Siu-kai, a consultant at the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a semi-official think tank.