Chief Executive Carrie Lam makes surprise claim during education symposium at University of Hong Kong<\/b>
\nHong Kong\u2019s leader said on Saturday that she and superstar Andy Lau became victims of cyberbullying, after expressing support for land reclamation near Lantau Island.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was speaking at a symposium at the University of Hong Kong organised by think tank Education 2.1, along with other groups concerned about education matters.
As Lam highlighted the need to instil youngsters with a positive attitude towards life in the age of the social media, with many falling victim to cyber bullying, Lam surprised those attending by comparing herself and Lau to the younger generation.
\u201cWe are facing problems of internet addiction and cyber bullying, and recently, actor Andy Lau and I have become the target of bullies online, because we just so happened to share the same opinion on reclamation,\u201d she said.
The chief executive has been heavily criticised after proposing in her policy address to reclaim 1,700 hectares of land to the east of Lantau, a plan government sources said could cost HK$500 billion.
Lam said the plan would create a residential and business hub, which could house up to 1.1 million people in the next two to three decades
Critics said the cost of the proposed islands \u2013 amounting to half of the city\u2019s fiscal reserves \u2013 was unjustifiable. Others raised concerns about the environmental impact, and said the project would take too long to complete.
Earlier in the month, Lau voiced his support for the move in a video produced by Our Hong Kong Foundation \u2013 which is led by the city\u2019s first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa. The foundation proposes building a 2,200-hectare artificial island for housing to the east of Lantau as part of the reclamation efforts.
The singer-actor, who had, before this episode, been affectionately known as \u201cthe people\u2019s chief executive\u201d in Hong Kong, has since been slammed by internet users for voicing his support for Lam\u2019s idea.<\/p>\n