Regina Ip, Joseph Wong call Leung's lawyer letter a mistake
Regina Ip and Joseph Wong say chief executive had better options than sending a lawyer's warning to author of critical newspaper commentary
Two former ministers and a Leung supporter suggested Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was "unwise" to send a lawyer's letter to the Hong Kong Economic Journal over a commentary he claimed was defamatory.
The two former ministers are Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who was secretary for security, and Joseph Wong Wing-ping, a previous secretary for the civil service.
In his commentary published on January 29, Joseph Lian Yi-zheng linked Leung to triad activity, citing comments by former Leung supporter Lew Mon-hung, who accused the chief executive of lying about illegal structures at his home.
Wong said Leung made a mistake by sending the letter to the journal asking for a retraction. "He should have refuted Lian's article publicly before and after sending the letter to the newspaper … Leung will lose points in the eyes of the public and Beijing as his action has triggered a fresh round of controversy."
Wong's former colleague Ip was also tempted to sue people who ridiculed her as "Broom-head", a reference to a hairstyle she had while promoting national security legislation in 2003.
"I regarded it as sexist … and discussed the issue with some women senior officials," she said, but they told her that pursuing the situation would only bring attention to her critics. Ip suggested that "maybe [Leung] was not used to [criticism] … and lost his temper, but if he sought more advice, he would have known he shouldn't do that … criticism is just part of the norm."