Despite Leung's heady toast, reconciliation is off the table
The 'great reconciliation', as touted by Leung Chun-ying after his election triumph on March 25, has yet to go beyond the wine-fuelled banter that marked the two dinners attended by him and supporters of campaign rival Henry Tang Ying-yen in recent months.
The image of then chief executive-elect Leung clinking glasses with his erstwhile detractors on the night of April 12 and May 29 seems light years away today, as infighting within the pro-establishment camp is about to spill out when nominations for the Legislative Council polls in September begin on Wednesday.
The two rival factions are preparing to compete for at least two functional constituency seats. First introduced in 1985 to represent the interests of Hong Kong's varied professions and business sectors, the functional constituencies have long been known for their 'harmony' - or their 'small circle' nature, as critics put it - in previous Legco elections.
In 2008, 14 out of 30 of them were returned uncontested, but this year more competition will be seen as pro-Leung candidates attempt to unseat pro-Tang incumbents.
Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, and a staunch supporter of Leung, is considering gunning for either the industrial (second) seat or the catering seat, both held by Tang's core supporters.
If he picks the industrial seat, he is unlikely to defeat Lam Tai-fai who, according to a person familiar with the situation, has 'strong support' from within the Chinese Manufacturers' Association (CMA), the organisation which basically forms the constituency.
'The leaders of CMA are quite united in their support for Lam, so he has a very firm chance to gain a second term,' said the person.
Wong said he was still making up his mind and would announce his decision 'as soon as possible'.
If he opts for the catering seat, he will find himself standing against the pro-Tang Liberal Party incumbent, Tommy Cheung Yu-yan.
This would not be an easy ride either, as a 17-candidate team led by Wong was shut out of the chief-executive election committee in December, when Cheung's team grabbed all the seats.
Another Leung supporter has expressed interest in challenging incumbent engineering lawmaker Raymond Ho Chung-tai, who nominated Tang. The former president of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE), Lo Wai-kwok, who nominated Leung, has obtained the support of four engineering heavyweights. They include Otto Poon Lok-to, who, interestingly, nominated Tang.
The contest could be more complicated with the possible participation of John Luk Wang-kwong, another former HKIE president, and former government engineer Lee Chi-ming, of the pan-democratic camp.
Another much-awaited battle is over the sports, performing arts, culture and publication sector seat, which Timothy Fok Tsun-ting has held for 14 years despite constant criticism of his poor attendance record and performance.
Leung supporter and former Arts Development Council chairman Ma Fung-kwok is 'seriously considering' running for the seat. Artist Chow Chun-fai declared his candidacy last week in a bid to oust Fok, although he admitted his chances were 'extremely slim'.
The media and the public would be happy to see more competition in the functional constituency seats, but the disharmony could be a headache for Beijing.
A 'good model' for harmony would be in the finance sector, in which incumbent and former Tang campaign office chief David Li Kwok-po named Leung supporter Ng Leung-sing - of the Bank of China - 'an ideal choice of successor'. Ending his 27 years as a lawmaker, Li, who owns the Bank of East Asia, called politics 'a waste of time' in an interview in May.
Yet there are always people who indulge themselves in this 'time-wasting' game, even if it means putting their personal wealth, integrity - and possibly their freedom - on the line.
