Opinion | Beijing's eagerness to take charge undermines HK autonomy
Frank Ching says the central government ought to know when to ease off and let its appointed leader in Hong Kong get on with the job
It is extremely unfortunate that a marine tragedy that cost 39 lives has provided the cause for another row between Hong Kong and the mainland.
It is true, as Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said in his National Day address, that it is "essential for Hong Kong to develop alongside the mainland" and so confrontation is not in anyone's interests.
That said, however, the way in which the mainland responded to the tragedy is deeply unsettling. First of all, Li Gang, deputy director of the central government's liaison office, adopted a high profile by visiting Queen Mary Hospital, speaking to the media, disclosing that there had been fatalities and announcing that barges would be sent from the mainland to assist in salvage operations.
This took place even before the Hong Kong government had announced that a number of people had died, or that mainland assistance had been requested.
The liaison office created the impression that it, not the Leung administration, was running Hong Kong. What made it worse was that the official China News Service subsequently reported - erroneously - that "professional boats from China successfully rescued 95 people" when the truth was that the boats were unneeded and returned to the mainland without ever being deployed here.
Intentionally or not, the mainland undermined the authority of the chief executive, at a time when his popularity ratings badly need a boost.