Carrie Lam thinks there is a place for her in heaven. "Because I do good things," she says. She tells me this with a straight face. In fact, the 60-year-old career civil servant is relentlessly serious during an interview conducted in the chief executive-elect's office, apart from the occasional nervous laugh, glance towards the door and complaint that my questions are unfair. To be fair to Mrs Lam, at least she has exposed herself to those questions, and even before taking office. Her predecessor CY Leung granted no BBC interview during five years in the post.
With only 0.1% of the public voting for her, I ask how she can claim a mandate to lead Hong Kong. "Well, I don't think it's a question of a number. The question is about legitimacy," Mrs Lam says. "And as you all know, the election committee by itself is formed from a much larger electorate representing broadly all the sectors in society in Hong Kong."
