New People's Party lawmaker Regina Ip said it's an appropriate time for the government to appoint two "young and energetic" ministers, saying the bureaus they head serve important roles.

In a reshuffle announced by the government on Thursday, Mable Chan, formerly the Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics, is succeeding Lam Sai-hung as transport minister, and Director of Housing Rosanna Law has replaced Kevin Yeung as Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Ip said both the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the Transport and Logistics Bureau have a lot of work ahead.

"Tourism promotion is a priority for this administration. Moreover, we are launching the Kai Tak sports complex, we will be hosting the National Games, and the blueprint for tourism, recreation and sport has just been unveiled. So there's a lot of work to be done," she said.

"The same with the Transport and Logistics Bureau. We are launching the third runway, we need to strengthen and broaden our aviation network and set up a new maritime services and harbour development board."

The DAB also welcomed the appointment of the two new ministers, hoping that they will strive to make breakthroughs in their respective policy portfolios.

Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien said he has high expectations for Law, saying she has demonstrated her vision for the future while working as the commissioner for transport and director of housing in the past.

"If you look at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel today, it's basically an exercise from bottom-up. They ran years and years of modelling, looked at all the possible scenarios and then came up with something and that's it. It turned out quite well.

"Her stint at the Housing Department... there was a lot of abuse of public housing privileges, and she responded very aggressively to our Roundtable demand to clamp down on the abuse."

The lawmaker representing the sports and culture sector, Kenneth Fok, said he is looking forward to working with Law, saying that the government has been highly concerned about sports and cultural development.
_____________________________
Last updated: 2024-12-05 HKT 13:44