FINANCIAL Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen made a good start in his first speech since succeeding Sir Hamish Macleod. But the real test will come in the months ahead as it becomes clear whether he can translate his rhetoric into reality.
Just six days into the job, Mr Tsang is setting a pace which must leave his staff fearing for their health. He has already set up his first taskforce, to examine the difficulties caused by Hong Kong's transformation from a manufacturing to service-based economy - an issue which his colonial predecessors apparently lacked the vision to tackle.
Just as welcome was Mr Tsang's recognition that the Government must do more to ease the human cost of unemployment if it is to maintain community support for its economic philosophy. Perhaps foreshadowing an impending shift of policy, he drew a distinction between the much-criticised General Importation of Labour Scheme, for which his speech had not a word of praise, and the need to continue to use foreign workers for specific projects such as the new airport. But more is rightly expected of the first local Financial Secretary. If his criticism of employers who refuse to hire younger workers is to have meaning, the Government must adopt a positive attitude towards age discrimination legislation. Hong Kong will also look to Mr Tsang to break the colonial privileges still shackling some parts of the economy.
Fears that the Government is losing its nerve over dismantling the banks' interest rate cartel must be laid to rest. Equally, the time is long overdue for a critical look at whether consumer interests are best served by the privileges enjoyed by such companies as Towngas and the Hong Kong School of Motoring.
In a period of uncertainty, Mr Tsang is understandably keen to stress his continuity with past policies. But Hong Kong also has the right to expect the Financial Secretary to make changes, albeit in a measured manner. Unless he does so, his present honeymoon may soon come to an abrupt end.
