Courage under fire
The Legislative Council by-election, won by Anson Chan Fang On-sang, was more than a race between two former senior civil servants. It was a battle between two sets of values. The former chief secretary beat Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a former security secretary, by a 12 percentage point margin. Although the contest was not about democratic reforms, voters reasserted Hong Kong's core values. Mrs Ip's past role in promoting the Article 23 national security legislation left a bitter taste in people's mouths, and it has lingered. An apology and a change of hairstyle will not win over everyone overnight.
The rivalry of the two major political camps provided a colourful backdrop for the showdown. But Mrs Ip did not lose gracefully; she has refused to admit defeat, insisting that she has succeeded in breaking the so-called '60:40 golden ratio' in Hong Kong's elections. That refers to the pattern of 60 per cent of the votes being won by pan-democrats and the remainder by pro-establishment parties.
Mrs Ip has failed to recognise that the 60:40 split was an exception. The pan-democrats would not have won so overwhelmingly in 2004 without the series of government policy debacles and the effects of the 2003 July 1 mass protest. In contrast, this by-election was held at a time when the economy has fully recovered and the government enjoys a high approval rating. If the pro-establishment parties had been able to field a candidate who could truly appeal to voters - such as Ko Wing-man, the former Hospital Authority deputy director - Mrs Chan would not have won so easily.
It is interesting to note that the media and government officials have been rather obsessed with former civil servants, giving rise to some strange speculation that senior civil servants who become legislators would be a thorn in the side of current officials.
It is pointless to suggest that ex-civil servants will prove more effective in scrutinising the government just because they are well-versed in the administration's machinery. Who doesn't know something about the government's operations these days? The present system won't be changed with the addition of a former senior civil servant to the legislators' ranks.
Of course, if Mrs Ip had won, there would be no question of the government feeling threatened because officials would regard her as 'one of us'. With Mrs Chan in Legco, she will be mostly facing her former subordinates. If anything, that will lead to some embarrassment at first. It is a good opportunity to test officials' ability to handle the changing political landscape.
In her Legco debut, Mrs Chan did not show the kind of eloquence required to shine in the chamber. On the contrary, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma Si-hang handled her questions effortlessly.
Much has been made of Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing's cynical remarks and veiled criticism of Mrs Chan. To me, it proves that Mrs Chan enjoys no special privileges in Legco. Mr Tsang is right to point out that Mrs Chan previously had little knowledge of ordinary people who struggle to make a living. Mrs Chan was quick to seize the opportunity to steal the limelight and the pan-democrats also had a field day. This is just politics.
For Mrs Chan, her long and successful career somehow became a burden in her campaign, and she had to go the extra mile to win support. Perhaps all senior officials should learn from her, and move out of their comfort zones to find out about ordinary people's lives. Mrs Chan has embarked on the road of no return called democracy. She can only go forward.
Like it or not, Mrs Chan is an elected legislator. Those who truly support democracy should appreciate her courage to go through this baptism of fire. Given the high places that Mrs Chan has occupied in the past, if it were not for her genuine belief in democracy, she would have had no reason to eat humble pie and put herself in front of her critics. Her bold move should be applauded; it is definitely a good thing for democratic development in Hong Kong.
Albert Cheng King-hon is a directly elected legislator
