Beijing agrees new Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam can run things her way

Three days after being voted into her new job, chief executive-elect Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor paid courtesy calls to Beijing’s liaison office, the office of the ­foreign ministry, and the People’s Liberation Army garrison.

The meetings came a day after she said ministers in her administration would “be in charge of their own work”, rather than taking their cue from Beijing’s representatives. Lam is under pressure to distance herself from outgoing chief executive Leung Chun-ying, who has long been accused of overreliance on the central ­government’s input.

Lam’s critics were quick to contrast the duration of her meeting with liaison office director Zhang Xiaoming– 90 minutes – against her 30-minute chat with Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen on Monday, but she dismissed concerns about her focus.