The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong has handled with considerable dexterity its recent sex scandal involving two of its core members. However, its hope to have the case closed before the next District Council elections has been dashed by the bitter wife of one of the men in the eye of the political storm.
The party swiftly moved into damage control immediately after two of its provisional regional councillors were accused by the media of having patronised prostitutes in the southern mainland city of Panyu.
The modus operandi of its crisis management comprised four basic elements: admitting the mistake; apologising to the public; offering a future remedy and seeking to strike the case off the news agenda as soon as possible.
Such a strategy was adopted by the Government when it had to contain the Chek Lap Kok airport fiasco.
Officials conceded that there were oversights and were humbled. Recommendations were drawn from independent inquiries to ensure similar errors would not recur in future major construction projects. Authorities then proceeded to brush up the new facility's image by highlighting the international awards it has won.
Likewise, the DAB issued an apology, acknowledging the 'misconduct' of councillors Ngan Kam-chuen and Chan Ping. They were stripped of their positions in the party but allowed to stay on as ordinary members. The party refrained from instructing them to relinquish their seats in Regco. Instead, a code of practice, modelled on that of the British House of Commons, was devised to guide the behaviour of its public office bearers.
During this period, both Mr Ngan and Mr Chan kept their mouths shut and let the party leaders pick up the pieces. Just as the ignominious saga appeared to be coming to a stop, Mr Chan's wife broke her silence and pushed the issue back into the limelight.
