Jasper Tsang expects contenders for 2017 Hong Kong chief executive race to express interest only after Legco elections
Legco president does not believe Leung Chun-ying will be uncontested if he runs for second term
Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing expects aspirants for the 2017 chief executive election will only express their interest after the Legco election in September to avoid affecting the operation of the government.
Tsang, who will leave his post in September, is also getting ready for the election – not by running for the top job himself but by preparing policy research proposals he hopes will be taken up by a candidate.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, the Beijing-friendly heavyweight says he does not believe Leung Chun-ying, who is likely to seek a second term as Hong Kong’s leader, will be running uncontested in March next year.
“I hope to see people representing different views taking part in the CE election, so Hong Kong people, the election committee and the central government may have a genuine choice,” he said.
As the government’s reform proposal for universal suffrage in 2017 was voted down by lawmakers last year, the race will adopt the existing model where a 1,200-member election committee, comprising representatives from political, professional and social sectors, will make the choice.
“I don’t think the central government wants the candidates to emerge too soon,” Tsang said. “The Legco election will be make or break for both the pan-democratic and the pro-Beijing camps. If the race starts too early, [the contest between Leung and others] could create conflicts within the pro-establishment camp, and in turn hand victory to pan-democrats.”
This would be possible because parties in the pro-Beijing camp might support different candidates, and the disagreement could affect their coordination for the Legco election.
An early start to the race would also hurt governance, Tsang said, noting that an “obvious hopeful” was a government official, whom he did not name. “If he runs, he will have to resign. So definitely it can’t be too early,” he added.
Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah is widely seen as a likely contender, although he has not stated his intention to run.
The Legco president has recently started some research projects under the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute.
“I’d like to see more than one candidate. That’s why I am now working with a group of friends to produce a report containing proposals on various policy areas,” he said. “We hope our proposals will be taken up by at least one candidate during the election next year.”
His “Hong Kong Vision Research Project”, steered by the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute, of which Tsang is a vice-chairman, covers several areas including “one country, two systems”, education and cultural policy.
The project is aimed to last for three years. So far, enough funding had been raised to support the project to carry on for two years, he said.
