NOWHERE are racing tipsters more respected and followed than in Hong Kong. So it is not surprising that insiders (or would-be insiders) have begun to offer their tips in the Chief Executive stakes. And like turf tipsters with a weakness for familiar horse, some Preparatory Committee members naturally want to promote their friends and proteges.
The interventions of Henry Fok Ying-tung and Dr Ann Tse-kai, two of the body's most influential members, have started to give the impression of a two-horse race between their respective candidates - fellow vice-chairmen Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying.
If the selection process had already gone that far, it would be a loss to Hong Kong, which rightly expects a more democratic procedure than the British allowed in appointing a governor. It would also be at odds with the Basic Law, which provides for such a process.
The main function of the Preparatory Committee is to prepare a 400-strong Selection Committee from all sections of society to recommend to Beijing a candidate for Chief Executive 'through local consultations or through nomination and election after consultations'.
Anyone, Preparatory Committee member or otherwise, is entitled to give an opinion on the best candidate. But until the selection body has done its work no one, committee vice-chairman or not, should be entitled to assume that he has an inside track to tipping the winner.
