Beijing ‘doesn’t trust John Tsang because he ignored its warning not to run’ in Hong Kong chief executive election

Veteran leftist claims in newspaper article that Tsang is ‘an agent of pan-democrats’ with US backing

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Lo Man-tuen said John Tsang was “an agent of pan-democrats” and backed by the United States. Photo: Sing Tao Daily

Published: 4:15pm, 24 Mar 2017Updated: 12:08pm, 25 Mar 2017

A veteran leftist has hit out at chief executive candidate John Tsang Chun-wah, saying Beijing doesn’t trust him because he ignored its warning against joining the race, and lacked commitment in opposing 2014’s Occupy protests.

Lo Man-tuen, who sits on the board of the campaign of Tsang’s rival Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, also accused the former financial secretary of being “an agent of pan-democrats” and backed by the United States.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying joined in. In a veiled reference, he slammed his former subordinate’s lack of concrete plans on housing, and queried why pan-democrats did not vote for Leung himself five years ago if they only wanted someone popular in opinion polls.

Late in the 2012 race, Leung had led Henry Tang Ying-yen in most opinion polls. He eventually won, but without pan-democrat support.

Two days before the election Lo, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference’s (CPPCC) subcommittee on foreign affairs, wrote a 6,800-word article in the Chinese-language newspaper Sing Tao Daily, titled: “Authoritative source reveals why Tsang is not supported by the central government”.

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