Political Animal
Bokhary case a question of relations
We have heard much hoo-ha about the case where Amina Mariam Bokhary, niece of Mr Justice Kemal Bokhary of the Court of Final Appeal, was spared a jail term after her third conviction for assaulting a police officer. Some said she deserved a harsher sentence - more than 300 people marched on Sunday demanding that - while others said the court's operation should not be interfered with. Either way, Martin Lee Chu-ming, former chairman of the Democratic Party, said there is an unexpected victim. 'Why do we always refer to Amina as the niece of Mr Justice Bokhary?' said the senior counsel, who has earlier said judicial independence runs the risk of being undermined by 'mob rule'. 'It might be a different question if Amina is his daughter. But his niece? Since when did education of the niece become the responsibility of the uncle?'
Odd interest in media mugshots
Summer time is traditionally a low season for politics, when politicians engage in their annual exodus to exotic holiday destinations away from the excitement of Hong Kong politics. That is why Political Animal found it odd when it heard that a certain lawmaker, rather than busy reading resort brochures, was keen to seek pictures of journalists who cover affairs in the Legislative Council. We don't know who he or she is, but it is understood that Legco staffers were asking the press pack who usually prowl the corridors of power on whether they would want to provide their mugshots when the media list is renewed in the annual exercise. Some aides to lawmakers have expressed surprise - because after all, it is already two years into the term and ample time for new lawmakers to get to know the journalists. The likely reason? It might perhaps have something to do with the high turnover rate of frontline reporters. Let's hope that amid the recent hype about public organisations' mishandling of people's personal data, the lawmaker in question will not carelessly post the pictures on the internet if anyone actually responds to the photo request.
The beard stays put in quest for votes
Many will remember the remarks by former secretary for security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, when she said she would not be able to safeguard Hong Kong's security if she failed to defend her own 'broom-head' hairstyle after being attacked by political rivals almost a decade ago. Now, it is the turn of her protege's election opponent who says he will not give up his beard in exchange for a possible better chance of being elected in an upcoming district council election. The person is Paul Zimmerman of the Civic Party, who is up against Ellis Lau Ying-tung, financial adviser of Ip's Savantas Policy Institute in the Pok Fu Lam constituency. The seat became vacant after another Ip protege, Ronald Chan Ngok-pang, resigned to take a job in the Chief Executive's Office. 'I am not going to give up my beard,' Zimmerman, who is Dutch, said, while admitting that how his 'foreign' look will affect his chances in the predominantly middle-class district has yet to be seen. 'But I have listened to my mother - I have trimmed it a bit along with my hair.'
