Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam Sui-lung

Today, Mr Lam takes it all in his stride. At 49, he still maintains his hallmark boyish image and never appears to 'lose his cool' when confronted with a sometimes hostile media. He is, indeed, in the 'hot seat', moving steadfastly forward with constitutional development while defending the decisions of the Administration amidst a boisterous public and legislature. But he adds, ''It is only right and proper that they debate the electoral system with passion.''


Autonomy is not total

But there are some who want universal suffrage in 2007-08 and it is for Mr Lam and the Constitutional Development Task Force, headed by the Chief Secretary for Administration, to ensure that all political parties and others understand that since Hong Kong is not a sovereign entity, it is essential ''that we work with the Central Authorities to get a new electoral system in place''.

''Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy, but it is not total autonomy. Already, Hong Kong has a greater say and involvement in the constitutional process, and for changes to be made to the electoral system. We have to try hard to get a consensus. We need a 2/3 majority in the Legislative Council, endorsement from the Chief Executive and endorsement from the National People's Congress. It is a three-way process in a two-way street.

''Differences exist in the community on the way forward, and proposals are still being put to us in somewhat different directions. Basically, we still haven't closed the gap sufficiently to have one mainstream proposal. Between now and mid-2005, we will try our very best to close the gap. Once that is achieved, we can start the process of amending Annexes 1 and 2 of the Basic Law and amending local legislation to prepare for the Chief Executive and Legislative Council elections in 2007 and 2008,'' said Mr Lam.

For more than 12 years, Mr Lam has been working in a pressure-cooker environment, being the Deputy Secretary for Constitutional Affairs responsible for the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group and other issues relating to the transition, Director of the Handover Ceremony in 1997, and now, of course, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs.

''People in Hong Kong,'' he says, ''have different ways of managing stress. They work hard and play hard and whether you are in a junior rank of the civil service or an executive in the private sector, you still work hard.''

For Mr Lam, working what he described as a 6.5-day week, he manages to have a little time lunching with his wife and daughters, for a good adventure movie like Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings (''I dozed off for the first 10 minutes and then watched the rest of the show,'' he reflects), and for an occasional game of badminton with some old university chums.


Words of advice

But even though he has left the civil service to pursue a political career, he still cares deeply about the well-being of the civil service. And with deep sincerity he offers a few words of advice for his colleagues:

''We have overcome many important and difficult problems in the past 20 years for the smooth transition of Hong Kong. We have survived the Asian financial crisis and the economic downturn. Now that the economy has begun to recover, probably the worst economic times are over and in a few more years down the road, the stress and cutbacks in the civil service will become a chapter in recent history. This will, therefore, prepare us for the new challenges ahead in terms of delivering Hong Kong through economic restructuring and staying competitive.

With the aid of a Canto pop concert, Mr Lam takes centre stage to encourage all eligible residents to register as voters for the 2004 elections.

Top