More Tang backers reappointed
More supporters of failed chief executive candidate Henry Tang Ying-yen, including his brother and high-profile businessman Allan Zeman, have been reappointed to statutory bodies.
While some take it as a sign of reconciliation between the two factions of the Beijing loyalist camp, split by the often bitter election campaign, a political scientist said it was too early to tell.
Tang's brother, Tom Tang Chung-yen, and Ayesha Macpherson Lau, the only Election Committee member from the accounting sector to nominate Tang, have been reappointed to the Trade Development Council. Zeman will continue as chairman of Ocean Park.
Their terms will start on July 1 and last two years. The appointments came a week after another Tang backer, Economic Synergy lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, was reappointed chairman of the Mega Events Fund. He began his term yesterday.
There had been worries that the rival camps would remain divided after the chief executive election. After the March 25 vote, two 'reconciliation dinners' were held in an effort to show there were no divisions. University of Science and Technology political scientist Dr Dixon Sing Ming said yesterday it was too early to say whether the appointments were further signs of reconciliation, especially when the posts were 'away from the power core'.
'The three are not the most important members in Tang's camp, compared to others like David Li Kwok-po, Lam Tai-fai, Joseph Yam Chi-kwong and Rafael Hui Si-yan,' he said.
'If you look at Li, Lam and Hui, they are all embroiled in different levels of controversy. That could be a sign of revenge, instead of reconciliation.' Li was found to have illegal structures on his property, Yam was reprimanded in the Legislative Council's report on Lehman Brothers minibonds and Hui is being investigated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Tang also voiced his worries about vendettas last month when he commented on the ICAC's involvement in the investigation of illegal structures at his Kowloon Tong home.
Zeman, the 'Father of Lan Kwai Fong', has presided over Ocean Park's board for nine years, three years beyond the usual six-year limit for heads of statutory bodies.
'I'm happy,' he said yesterday. 'It's also good for the staff. The majority want me to stay.'
Although he has been reappointed for two years, rather than three years as happened in 2009, Zeman called the decision a 'fair assessment'.
Despite supporting Tang, Zeman said he did not have a bad relationship with chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying and both sides had now moved on from the election.
