Opinion | Leung Chun-ying should act promptly on problems not of his making
Philip Bowring says the C.Y. Leung administration can best raise public confidence by addressing some of the problems inherited from its predecessors
The new administration is clearly stumbling despite some evidence of good intentions on the part of Leung Chun-ying and the hard work by Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. But it is important at this time to separate poor decisions by them from problems inherited from the previous regime.
Firm action to address those legacy issues would do much to raise public confidence. It would also give both Leung and Lam an opportunity to show they can drive ministers and civil servants to act expeditiously.
One place to start would be to make a decision on applications for new free-to-air TV licences. It is simply maladministration to sit on this for years because of pressure from vested interests - such as ATV with political backing from self-appointed "patriots". It shows government to be weak and unwilling to operate under its own procedures.
Another step, in a minor key, would be to order the chief of police to stop waiving traffic and parking laws in Central, Wan Chai and other congested areas for owners and drivers of posh vehicles. Special favours for the rich and powerful that inconvenience the 99 per cent bring the whole system of justice into disrepute. It has got to the point where owners and drivers of fancy cars even threaten citizens who complain. Such public arrogance is a danger to social cohesion. If Leung cannot fix such a simple issue, he should quit now.
One way the administration could show it wants to raise trust would be to stop the Lands Department being a willing accessory to large-scale money laundering as well as operating an information wall that, unsurprisingly, gives the public the impression of collusion between the government and politically influential business interests. As corporate governance expert David Webb recently pointed out, while banks and ordinary businesses are hassled by form-filling supposedly to stop money laundering, overseas companies can buy land at government auctions without having to reveal the identity of those behind them, or even their place of incorporation: a corporate name from anywhere will suffice.
Perhaps Lam herself, as a former secretary for development, could explain why this scandalous state of affairs has been allowed to continue. Secrecy also seems the watchword of the Buildings Department, a stance that can only benefit those with an inside track.
It would be encouraging, too, to see the chief executive and chief secretary show that the government, not the Heung Yee Kuk's godfathers, run development policy in the New Territories. Lam seemed prepared for a degree of confrontation with them in her old job. Now she has even more power. But will she use it to promote better, fairer administration, or succumb to behind-the-scenes political pressures of the sort that have delayed the decision on TV licences?