Tsang and finance chief need new power, says scholar
More power should be given to Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and the new financial secretary, the chairman of a policy think-tank said yesterday.
Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, chairman of SynergyNet and a professor in public administration at City University, also said some of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's powers and duties would be transferred to pacify civil servants.
Mr Tung has repeatedly denied such claims.
'Mr Tung would not voluntarily say he will share power with others,' Professor Cheung said at a SynergyNet press conference in Wan Chai.
'But the Chinese leaders would want to boost morale among civil servants and eventually strengthen Mr Tung's administration so that a collective leadership would emerge.'
Professor Cheung believes the central government will be more wary in accepting Mr Tung's recommended choice of financial secretary. The former financial secretary, Antony Leung Kam-chung, resigned last Wednesday.
'The next thing the central government will want to do is to soothe the commercial sector's discontent. A candidate who can get a good grip of economic issues must be chosen,' he said.
'Probably the central government might have a different pick this time, as Mr Tung still has not disclosed his list of candidates.'
Professor Cheung also predicted that the next financial secretary could bargain for more power because he would have to take over in such a short period of time.
He said the central government would find it hard to dodge the issue of universal suffrage during the next election campaign for chief executive.
'The power of the Legislative Council is evidenced in the postponement of the Article 23 bill's second reading,' he said, referring to the controversial national security laws.
Professor Cheung urged the government to start a public consultation on the election of the chief executive as soon as possible to allay public fears over the issue.
