It appears that chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying and his chief aide, Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, are the only people in Hong Kong with a burning desire to revamp the government by July 1. No one else shares their urgency. The heads and senior members of the main political parties have expressed reservations about the need to have the new structure in place by that deadline, when Leung takes office. Even Tam Yiu-chung, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, says the plan's chances of being passed by the legislature - whose approval is required - are slim. 'I think there could be problems and I am not optimistic,' he said. Putting it in graphic terms, he said that even if Leung failed to get what he wanted, 'the government would still be working and no people would die'. This comes from the leader of a party that has been far more sympathetic to the proposals than most. In truth, fair-minded critics and politicians have not dismissed the revamp, which will cost an additional HK$72 million a year. They merely question its urgency. Many people are willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, and no one is defending the present structure and the poor governance it has engendered. But that's the point: the revamp will expand, rather than reform, the ministerial accountability system that everyone acknowledges has become a mess. It will create a new deputy finance secretary and deputy chief secretary, a new culture bureau and a technology bureau. Lands and housing will be the responsibility of a single bureau. The last may be the most significant part, as Leung has vowed to tackle the housing issue that lies at the root of much of this city's social discontent. Leung won the March election by default and has no real mandate. But instead of patiently explaining their agenda to the public, he and Law have picked a first fight that they look increasingly likely to lose. They have tried scare tactics; they have appealed to wavering lawmakers. But if they fail, they will have no one to blame but their own impatience and poor judgment.
