City’s football association chairman laments Leung Chun-ying’s reluctance to publicly side with home team
ERNEST.KAO@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 18 November, 2015, 11:41am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 18 November, 2015, 12:41pm
Leung said he was impressed by the excellent performance of the Hong Kong team and national team players. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hong Kong’s top government officials have come under fire for refusing to show outright support for a home side win in a politically-charged World Cup qualifier against China last night that ended in a 0-0 draw.
And even after the match, the ambiguity continued.
Despite claiming to be unable to watch the match while in Manila for the APEC summit after being asked which team he supported, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying posted a short two-paragraph post on his official blog last night praising both teams for “giving it [their] all”.
READ MORE: Goalless glory: Hong Kong hold China to a famous 0-0 draw in World Cup qualifier
In a new blog post, which he linked to his Facebook account, Leung said: “I am impressed by the excellent performance of the Hong Kong team and national team players.”
In a radio programme this morning, Hong Kong Football Association chairman Brian Leung Hung-tak said it was only natural to expect local government officials to side with the Hong Kong team. He previously expressed disappointment that Leung, as a Hongkonger, would not express support for the local football squad.
OPINION: Come on, Hong Kong officials - show some passionate support for our heroic football team!
The chief executive’s senior ministers have also tended towards non-committal remarks when asked about their football loyalties. Health minister Dr Ko Wing-man, for example, said because he was “Hong Kong Chinese” he supported both sides.
Yesterday, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor gave the closest any bureaucrat would offer as a statement of support, saying she hoped the Hong Kong team would “play a wonderful game”.
But Lam said she was not a football fan and would be too busy to watch the match.
Meanwhile, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, who months ago was pictured cheering for the Hong Kong side in another World Cup qualifier, posted a photo of himself watching last night’s match on a tablet computer in the Romanian capital Bucharest. The caption read: “Exciting match!”
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1880110/chief-executive-praises-both-hong-kong-and-national-football
