C.Y. Leung is urgently in need of a reality check
Incoming chief executive Leung Chun-ying has been living in a fantasy world since being elected. He thinks his people-backed victory in the small-circle election is a passport to doing things his own way. He needs to beam back to reality. A small-circle win is not a mandate, especially when the victory was due to the people having to pick one of two bad choices. In the real world things don't simply snap into place just because an election winner wants them to. Leung is learning that the hard way. He is fast discovering that the people will give him some rope as a new leader, but the rope comes with a leash. If he is politically savvy, as people say he is, he should learn from the flak he is getting for rejecting public demands that as Hong Kong's leader he should speak out on the mysterious death of Tiananmen dissident Li Wangyang and the June 4 Tiananmen crackdown. He hasn't done either, giving the excuse that, as chief executive, he shouldn't comment on mainland affairs. How can he represent Hong Kong people if he imposes restrictions on reflecting their views to the central government? He needs to understand that popularity is one thing, using it to buy his way out of sensitive spots is another. The people won't let him do that. They know when to tighten the leash.
We don't need more tourists
Public Eye salutes former Observatory director Lam Chiu-ying. He is the brains behind Leung Chun-ying's environmental agenda. And he has questioned Hong Kong's need for a pricey HK$130 billion third runway. Public Eye doesn't care one way or another about a third runway. We salute Lam only for the reason he gave against another runway. Lam says we don't need it because we don't need any more tourists. Darn right. Finally, we have someone close to our new leader who thinks like the people, not like bureaucrats. Finally, we have someone who doesn't think all policies should be made with money, rather than the people, uppermost in mind. Ordinary people are fed up with the hordes of visitors, mostly mainlanders, who crowd MTR trains and malls and compete for basic things such as baby milk powder, driving up prices. Legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee warned we are becoming a city of shopkeepers. How many more visitors can we absorb? We are already so bursting at the seams that it is ruining the quality of life of ordinary Hongkongers. Enough is enough.
Whose side is Carrie Lam on?
Once again, Development Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is talking tough. But Public Eye knows it's all bull-poop. Her tough talk is in fact disguised whimpers. Lam, who is tipped to be our next government No 2, says developers who want free floor area may, in future, have to achieve a minimum green building rating. OK, so you don't have a clue what that means. We'll explain. The government now gives bonus floor space to our filthy rich developers in return for environmentally-friendly features in new buildings. Officials rate new projects to see how environmentally friendly they are, but developers can get bonus floor space even if their projects fail to achieve a rating. Developers even include the bonus floor area for green features as the gross floor area of flats when they sell homes to the people. You're right - it's a scam. But how else can the government help developers get even richer? Lam now says developers who want bonus floor space must achieve a minimum green building rating. But why must we give developers free floor space to make their projects environmentally friendly? Shouldn't they do it anyway because it's the right thing to do? If Lam thinks she's so tough she should make it a law that all projects must have green features. Everyone except the developers will support it. Whose side are you on, Mrs Lam?
