Seeking a second term or not, CY Leung is not going to have Carrie Lam by his side.

In an interview with Sing Tao Daily (ch), Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam was steadfast in stating that she will not seek another term in office.

Lam said she would like to become the first Chief Secretary since the Handover to hold the title for the whole five-year term, implying that she is unlikely to seek moving from the city’s Number Two to Number One in 2017. “You should understand that for one who seeks a higher position, the right thing that he or she should do is to avoid offending people,” Lam said in the interview. “Instead, I am not afraid to offend others.”

She also dismissed the possibility of becoming another Anson Chan, saying that she will not criticise the Government “like some former officials after retiring.”

Anson Chan stepped down as Chief Secretary in April 2001, reportedly due to disagreements between her and the then CE Tung Chee-hwa, while Donald Tsang and Henry Tang both resigned early to prepare for their CE election campaigns.

Lam’s statement came after a number of political heavyweights announced or hinted at their retirement from the Legislative Council. They included president Jasper Tsang, democrats Albert Ho and Emily Lau, Civic Party’s Alan Leong, and Chan Yuen-han of the Federation of Trade Unions.

It was noteworthy that Lam also hinted at leaving the office at the time of the 2012 CE elections, when she was Secretary for Development. Shortly afterward she became the lieutenant of CY Leung.