TONY CHEUNG TONY.CHEUNG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Monday, 27 July, 2015, 11:26am
UPDATED : Monday, 27 July, 2015, 11:35am
Starry Lee said it was too early for Beijing to comment on the possibility it would back Leung Chun-ying for another term as chief executive. Photo: Sam Tsang
The leader of Hong Kong’s biggest pro-government party has warned that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s governance could be hampered if ministers were “frightened and lost their peace of mind” amid the replacement of two ministers last week.
In the aftermath of the cabinet reshuffle, Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, also urged Leung to pay attention to the morale in his cabinet.
Executive Councillor Cheung Chi-kong has described the ministerial reshuffle as like “substitutions” in a soccer match. Picking up that analogy, Lee, who is also an Executive Councillor, told Commercial Radio: “I hope the captain would listen to public opinion and reactions, boost morale and [encourage ministers to remain] active in their work, otherwise if the team is not united … or even lost their peace of mind, it would be unfavourable for governance.”
On Tuesday, Leung raised eyebrows by abruptly announcing that he would replace Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing, 66, and Secretary for the Civil Service Paul Tang Kwok-wai. In separate statements, Tsang said he was “glad to retire”, while Tang cited “unforeseeable family circumstances” for his departure.
Political commentators believed that the duo had to go because both Leung and Beijing were unhappy with their performance, but Tsang’s older brother, Legislative Council President Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, has repeatedly spoken out in his defence, including hitting out at some “incredibly stupid” government officials for spreading “unfounded rumours” about the outgoing ministers’ “unsatisfactory performance”.
When asked about the remarks of Jasper Tsang, Lee said the government could have done better in the replacement process.
”Substituting [ministers] is a sensitive matter indeed … no matter how you do it, you might not satisfy everyone,” Lee said. “But I think misunderstandings could be minimised if there were more communication beforehand, for a frank exchange of views with different sides involved.”
The DAB made a four-day visit to Beijing last week, and met National People’s Congress chairman Zhang Dejiang, the top official in charge of Hong Kong affairs.
When asked whether Zhang hinted that Beijing would support Leung for a second term in two years, Lee reiterated that while Zhang “acknowledged Leung’s work … it would be over-interpretation if one is saying that it means Beijing is supporting Leung to seek re-election”. It was too early for Beijing to comment on such matters, she added.
Tsang Tak-sing was replaced by the undersecretary for constitutional and mainland affairs Lau Kong-wah, who used to be a vice-chairman of DAB. The three other DAB members in Leung’s cabinet are Lau’s political assistant Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, commerce minister Greg So Kam-leung and his political assistant Bernard Chan Pak-li.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1843957/dab-leader-starry-lee-urges-cy-leung-pay-attention-ministers
