Chief executive contender Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor launched a veiled attack on her main rival John Tsang Chun-wah on Sunday, by warning against populism in Hong Kong’s leadership race and pledging to consider spending more of the government’s surplus on the needy. Speaking a day before Tsang was set to unveil his policy platform, Lam – seen as Beijing’s preferred candidate – said she aimed to unveil her preliminary platform before nominations start on February 14. The former chief secretary reiterated that she would do her “utmost” to engage people with different political views, and hire people to her team on merit alone. That pledge came after pan-democrats shunned Lam’s election rally.
