My Take | Our dirty politics are dragging down the quality of public discourse
Hong Kong's protests may not have become more violent, but our politics are getting a lot dirtier. That may be expected because the stakes are so high. But it is insidious and corrosive to healthy public discourse.
Hong Kong's protests may not have become more violent, but our politics are getting a lot dirtier. That may be expected because the stakes are so high. But it is insidious and corrosive to healthy public discourse.
Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, the media godfather of the pan-democratic movement, and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying have both caught the attention of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, thanks to unauthorised leaks of private documents obtained through illegal means.
A fresh batch of Lai's confidential documents was leaked to the media this week - the third time since July. They suggested Lai had sponsored the Occupy Central movement. But it was the previous leak of hundreds of files such as bank statements, bills and emails showing donations of millions to pan-democratic figures that prompted an ICAC raid at the homes of Lai and his top aide Mark Simon.
Five pan-democratic lawmakers were caught in a political storm for failing to declare the donations. Among them was Labour Party legislator Lee Cheuk-yan who admitted to receiving HK$1.5 million. Lai said his computer systems were hacked into, and suspected the cyber-theft involved "state-level" hacking.
Given his anti-Beijing stance, Lai's claims are not unfounded. But instead of being the victim, he has become the target of an active ICAC probe. If hackers had stolen hundreds of government files, the police's cyber-sleuths would surely have gone into overdrive to investigate.
The ICAC has not gone as far with Leung, merely opening a file following public complaints about a private commercial deal worth £4 million (HK$50 million) before he took office. But it's still too early to know if the ICAC will expand its probe. A copy of the contract was reportedly sent to an Australian newspaper detailing the payment by UGL, an engineering firm, and the services and obligations Leung was supposed to perform after it bought DTZ, a property company of which he was a director.