'Dream team' mooted for next government
A proposal to form a 'dream team' for the next government consisting of Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Henry Tang Ying-yen and Leung Chun-ying underscores growing doubts about the abilities of hotly tipped candidates Tang and Leung, a pro-Beijing politician says.
The politician, who declined to be named, said the proposal by veteran Beijing loyalist Ng Hon-mun was another indication that Beijing had not stated its preference for the next chief executive.
'It allows room for different kinds of guessing and theories as the election battle is heating up,' he said.
As he reads it, Ng is not fully satisfied with the abilities of Tang and Leung, who are seen as front-runners for the top job, and that Ng's views are shared by heavyweights in the traditional leftist camp.
Ng, a former deputy to the National People's Congress, is proposing an 'iron triangle' - with Fan, now a member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, as chief executive, Tang as chief secretary for another five years and Leung, the Executive Council convenor, taking up the post of financial secretary.
But he believes the possibility of the trio uniting is not high because neither Tang nor Leung would be willing to work for another person.
Ng's suggestion, published yesterday in Ming Pao, came three weeks after a meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing. But he stressed that these were his 'weird opinions' aimed at facilitating debate, as Beijing had yet to make up its mind on who should get the top job.
In his commentary, Ng said: 'Fan enjoyed high popularity and had no grudge with various political forces. Her appointment as chief executive would not meet serious opposition.'
He said Tang, who joined the government in 2002, had good relationships with civil servants. His serving as chief secretary for another term would help his bid in 2017, when the chief executive would be elected by universal suffrage.
'Leung has been studying Hong Kong's economy and has raised many constructive proposals. It would be good to let him work in the government first,' he said.
Ng said Fan, 65, a member of the NPC Standing Committee and a former Legislative Council president, possessed good political skills, although she could serve only a five-year term given her age and health condition.
Fan, who has beaten breast cancer and undergone a kidney transplant, had admitted her age and health were her major weaknesses as a potential candidate.
Widely considered a dark-horse candidate for next year's chief executive election, she said last week she would take two months to decide whether to run. Ng said both Tang and Leung would enjoy advantages in the 2017 race if they delivered in the next administration.
He told RTHK yesterday that the election battle remained unclear and the central government had not made up its mind. He added that he could not get a grasp of Beijing's preference, either in his meeting with Wen or on other occasions.
He said he intended to facilitate debate by airing his personal 'weird opinions'.
'All three are eager to run for the top job. My view is that it would be better for them to form a team than engage in a fierce battle among themselves,' Ng said.
Fan and Tang could not be reached for comment yesterday. Leung's assistant said he would not comment on Ng's remarks.
