Marshalling the SAR's tycoons
OVERT INTERFERENCE? Apparently not. Indirect, subtle interference? Evidently so. Three years after the handover, the question of how to balance 'one country' with 'two systems' is far from settled. That Beijing is keen to have the ultimate say in Hong Kong's political development is clear from the meetings in Beijing last week between 30 SAR tycoons and the mainland leadership.
The crucial issue of a second term for Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, which had been decided in principle by senior Politburo members earlier this year, was finalised. According to official reports and some tycoons, President Jiang Zemin not only praised Mr Tung's performance but called upon the top businessmen to observe the 'unity principle'.
In the context of Beijing-Hong Kong relations, this means rallying behind the politician whom the leadership has painstakingly groomed since the early 1980s - Mr Tung. Despite the overall pro-Beijing image projected by SAR corporate chiefs, it is important to note that quite a number - including some of these 30 kingpins - are considered members of a 'dump-Tung coalition'. A major reason behind anti-Tung sentiment, according to coalition affiliates, is the Chief Executive's alleged favouritism towards a few tycoons who are his long-standing supporters and former business partners.
While Mr Tung's term still has two years to run, the high-profile affirmation of his track record by Mr Jiang and Premier Zhu Rongji last Friday has silenced the opposition - and effectively given the former shipping magnate a mandate through to 2007. This is despite the fact that the composition of the Election Committee that will formally pick the next Chief Executive in 2002 has not even been determined.
According to a source familiar with Beijing's SAR policy-making, Mr Tung had, early this year, indicated to the leadership his desire for a second term. 'Tung has pointed out that many of Hong Kong's post-handover problems stem from factors beyond his control, particularly the Asian financial crisis,' the source said. 'Tung has pledged to the Jiang leadership that, with the effect of the crisis wearing off, he can bring the SAR to greater glories in his second term.' The source said that despite Mr Tung's popularity having fallen to record low levels, Mr Jiang and his colleagues have expressed total trust in his ability. Since the spring, Beijing's Liaison Office in the SAR, formerly known as Xinhua, has orchestrated an elaborate campaign to bolster Mr Tung's status and image.
What made the tycoons with reservations about Mr Tung agree to Beijing's 'unity' persuasion? Apart from not wanting to run foul of the powers that be, the major reason was the promise of unprecedented business opportunities after the mainland's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). And while liberals may fault Beijing for undermining the principle of SAR autonomy by going all out to ensure a second term for Mr Tung, it will be hard for them to deny that the investment and other commercial prospects unveiled by the leadership last week would give the SAR economy a lift.
'Politically, the tycoons were asked to observe the 'unity' principle through supporting Tung,' said a source close to last week's meetings. 'Economically, they were asked to bury their differences and jointly exploit post-WTO opportunities on the mainland.' The source added that details of the goodies coming the SAR's way were spelled out in separate meetings chaired by ministerial-level cadres, such as planning chief Zeng Peiyan and the head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Liao Hui.
'SAR businessmen were told they could help bring state-owned enterprises to the global marketplace, and particularly, to help them compete against the multinationals post-WTO entry,' the source added. 'Hong Kong tycoons, particularly the top clans, were asked to forge joint ventures to go after mainland projects.' It is understood that hints were given that, particularly in areas with national security implications, Beijing would rather hand lucrative deals to 'patriotic' executives than foreigners. The only requirement is that the SAR tycoons work closely with state-owned enterprises - and that the former should unsparingly share their expertise with the latter. Moreover, suggestions were made to the corporate moguls that, in view of enhanced world competition, they should consider forming strategic alliances among themselves - and to go after areas beyond property and other traditional sectors.
Veteran analysts of mainland-SAR dynamics have cited the public praise that cyber-mogul Richard Li Tzar-kai received from Mr Zhu, who called him 'a rising star'. They have compared the highly symbolical gesture to the famous handshake that Mr Jiang bestowed on Mr Tung during a SAR Preparatory Committee meeting in early 1996. The analysts said while Mr Zhu's unusual remark might not necessarily confirm speculation that Beijing had encouraged Mr Li's Pacific Century Cyberworks to take over Cable & Wireless HKT, it was a clear signal the leadership welcomed SAR tycoons to go unreservedly into telecommunications and other politically sensitive fields.
As for the much-ballyhooed go-west crusade, Beijing last week also pledged unrivalled opportunities for local business chiefs. One leading tycoon was told he would be given particularly favourable terms in exploiting petroleum and other natural resources in the western provinces.
Indeed, the extraordinary meetings at the Great Hall of the People said much about the future of mainland-SAR ties, even as they summed up the experience of the past three years. In the foreseeable future, Beijing will continue to take a patriarchal approach in making sure the SAR is run by patriotic, trusted politicians. The Democratic Party and other critics may decry the lack of representativeness of the 30 bigshots, which seems to be exacerbated by the fact that there are six father-son teams among them and that two of them are brothers. However, it is in Beijing's interest to perpetuate the tycoons' overwhelming political clout.
Moreover, the Liaison Office and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, which play key united-front roles particularly regarding the SAR business community, will continue to help Beijing ensure that the SAR's political development will not go off track. This is despite the view of some that both institutions should be drastically scaled down, if not abolished, to minimise meddling in Hong Kong affairs.
Few, even among the puristic interpreters of the principle of a high autonomy for Hong Kong, would characterise the provision of lucrative contracts to the SAR corporations as 'interference'. Such supposedly economic matters, however, take on stark political overtones because of the strings attached.
SAR residents, however, have been soundly bludgeoned by the Asian financial crisis and economic woes such as unemployment, deflation and a topsy-turvy property market. Which leads to perhaps the most disturbing development since July 1, 1997: as livelihood-related uncertainties soar and the mainland's economic dependence on the motherland increases, more and more SAR denizens are willing to acquiesce in the erosion of autonomy in return for at least the promise of material benefits. And as the economic boundaries between the mainland and Hong Kong become even more blurred post-WTO, the so-called sinicisation of SAR politics also seems harder to avoid.
Willy Wo-Lap Lam is a Post associate editor
