Has a year made a difference? Do you think things have changed for the better from a year ago? Last year, at around this time, we were bombarded with Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's face on TV. Every few hours he intruded into our living rooms in a government ad, promising to make things better. The ad showed him eavesdropping on people's conversations about what the government should be doing for them. He looks into the camera, assuring everyone he'll listen to their views.
This year's ad slips a bit into silliness, with people donning fake moustaches to mimic him. Again, he says he'll listen to views. Did he listen last year and, if he did, what difference did it make? Will he listen this year? Perhaps a better question is whether he is capable of really understanding the views of ordinary people without a bureaucratic bias. Does he draw up his budget based on what people want or what his bureaucratic mind thinks they want?
Last year, at this time, the people were hurting. The economy hadn't recovered. People wanted quick relief. But they also wanted something more. They wanted imagination from the government. Aside from one-off sweeteners, they wanted something that would give them hope of not having to be hooked on quick relief indefinitely. They didn't get it. There was no imagination from Tsang, only the same tired act of short-term appeasement. which defines the vision of our bureaucrats.
Perhaps Tsang really believes vision is handing out one-off sweeteners, giving handouts year to year to keep the masses happy. The trouble with that is how long can you keep it up? Most of last year's relief measures have already run out. Others are about to end. The people now want another dose. They've become addicted. What's Tsang going to do at his next budget in February? Inject some more sweeteners into them to keep them high for another year? Or will he wean them off with a better alternative?
The government itself has said sweeteners aren't the long-term answer. But it hasn't said what is. I don't think our bureaucrats really know. Or, if they do, they lack the will to proceed. To do that requires a complete turnaround in thinking. It means reshaping the old order, defying vested interests and throwing out the worn guidebook with which our bureaucrats have governed for so long.
But just last week Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen showed how incapable our bureaucrats are of thinking like the people. He couldn't understand why everyone was so angry that the government had allowed a retiring housing chief to work for a property developer. When legislators expressed astonishment that bureaucrats had ignored a red flag in giving the job clearance, he scolded them.