Government accused of 'punishing' parties at anniversary celebrations

It was a good day for the progovernment Business and Professionals Alliance yesterday, as they celebrated their first anniversary with financial chief and acting chief executive John Tsang Chun-wah and 12 ministers - a sharp contrast in official treatment to the Liberal Party's 20th anniversary dinner a day earlier, to which only several undersecretaries turned up.

The disparity raised questions about whether the government was being "intolerant" towards its former staunch allies and punishing them for supporting Leung's rival Henry Tang Ying-yen in the chief executive election - and joining forces with the pan-democrats to back the ill-fated motion for an investigation into the government's free-to-air TV licensing decision.

Liberals also backed pan-democrats' calls for education chief Eddie Ng Hak-kim to quit amid huge protests against a national education curriculum, and for Legco to investigate the failure of the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, set up by key Leung aide Barry Cheung Chun-yuen.

A government source confirmed that ministers were "told" not to attend the Liberals' function on Monday, but it wasn't specified if the instruction came from Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's office.

Tsang's press secretary said the minister was absent from Monday's celebration because he was occupied with his work, while a spokesman for Leung's office reiterated that ministers chose to attend functions based on their own schedules. He declined to comment further.

The Liberals' vice-chairman Felix Chung Kwok-pan was not convinced. He said the government's attitude could make it harder to earn the party's support in the Legislative Council. "In the past, we have decided to back the government on some controversial matters, but now, if something is hard for us to support, we will stand [more firmly] on the people's side," he warned.