But Legco chief says article about leadership qualities was not dig at CY over 'retired' brother
JOYCE NG AND JEFFIE LAM IN BEIJING
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 23 July, 2015, 11:52pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 23 July, 2015, 11:52pm
Leung Chun-ying and Jasper Tsang Yok-sing shakes hands outside the Legco Complex on July 9. Photo: Nora Tam
A day after Jasper Tsang Yok-sing revealed that his brother had not voluntarily quit Leung Chun-ying's cabinet, the Legislative Council president warned that a capable leader cannot bring together a strong team if he is "arrogant and egotistic".
Widely interpreted as a thinly veiled attack on Leung, the veteran politician's broadside came a day after he spoke in support of his younger brother, Tsang Tak-sing, former secretary for home affairs, who "retired" on Tuesday in a sudden political shake-up.
A source familiar with the reshuffle has said that Leung and Beijing were not happy with the leftist-turned-minister's performance, blaming him for "inadequate" work among the city's youth, a factor they think led to last year's Occupy protests.
"A person of high calibre is not necessarily likeable," the elder Tsang wrote in an article titled "leadership quality" published in a Chinese-language newspaper and posted on his Facebook page yesterday. He did not name anyone.
"Very often, on the contrary, someone with distinguished career achievements may offend and upset those whom he dealt with, if he is arrogant and imperious or recalcitrant and egotistic.
"Those people may still be willing to follow him because they admire him for his ability, but they will not enjoy working with him," he continued.
"If someone like this becomes a leader of a team… it's impossible for the team to have high morale and to show initiative."
His post acquired more than 350 "likes" and prompted Liberal Party lawmaker James Tien Pei-chun to leave a tongue-in-cheek comment.
"Ah Sing, I always thought you were a smart Legco president, but I didn't know you were as good as me in [scoring an advantage]!" said Tien, who was ousted from the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference after criticising Leung last year.
But Tsang, on a visit to Beijing yesterday, said his article was "purely academic" and not about the chief executive as "that would be too far-fetched".
On Tuesday, he said the news of his brother's departure came as a "surprise". A day later, he told the media "I am sure my brother did not request to leave" while noting the younger Tsang did not have issues with the chief executive's reshuffle.
Tien's colleague, Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee, on her Facebook page, also lamented the lack of unity in the administration: "The leaders have no ability or magnanimity to reach the full potential of their team. ... This is the sadness of Hong Kong."
Meanwhile, Elsie Leung Oi-sie, vice-chairwoman of the Basic Law Committee, said people need not speculate on the motive behind the reshuffle, and that Tsang, at 66, was the same age as her when she resigned as secretary for justice in 2005.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1843250/without-naming-names-jasper-tsang-slams-arrogant-leaders
