My Take | John Tsang’s empty words on political reform
Chief executive hopeful is promising to restart the process for universal suffrage but there is little room for manoeuvre given Beijing’s stance
John Tsang Chun-wah has managed to steal a march over his arch-rival in the chief executive race by coming up with a policy platform first.
What immediately catches the eye is how many pan-democratic pet causes he has promised to pursue. The man is really going after the pan-dems’ votes on the Election Committee.
He has promised to restart the political reform process for universal suffrage; review the time-honoured automatic appointment of the chief executive as chancellor of all the public universities; and enhance “procedural justice”, rule-based government operations and transparency.
The last item is presumably a dig at rival Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who has drawn much flak for authorising the construction of a local version of Beijing’s Palace Museum at the West Kowloon arts hub without prior consultation or tendering.
But the main attraction is no doubt the promise to revive the political reform process. That really sets him apart from the Beijing-friendly crowd. It’s an article of faith among many in the business elite and the pro-establishment camp that there is no point in reviving the failed reform exercise.