It has been estimated that the Chief Executive’s information coordinator Andrew Fung Wai-kwong has more than doubled his earnings in four years, which now amount to HK$10,000 a day, according to government documents released to the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
Dubbed a “trusted aide” as Leung Chun-ying’s key media co-ordinator, Fung will receive a salary of HK$3.4 million this coming fiscal year, which – together with his HK$430,000 end-of-contract gratuity – will earn him a total of HK$3.8 million. It is more than twice as much as the HK$1.5 million he received when he started in 2012.
His salary rise contributes to a 4.9 per cent increase in the Chief Executive’s office expenses. According to the Chief Executive Office’s statement in the document, the HK$4.1 million additional expenditure includes extra expenses on personal emoluments.
The additional budget is also for remuneration adjustments for end-of-contract gratuities to the two officers under special appointment, one of whom is Fung.
Fung’s salary leap raised many eyebrows as he has often been caught making embarrassing gaffes.
One such incident was when he posted a photo online of what appeared to be a police officer injured during the Occupy movement in 2014, which turned out to be a heavily made-up actor in a local television show about zombie policemen.
He was also mocked for comparing his current job to that of a White House press secretary.
