Donald Tsang Yam-kuen hinted yesterday he would be fearless in giving advice to Tung Chee-hwa even if it meant expressing opposing views.
The Financial Secretary was asked if he had ever contradicted Mr Tung. Without giving a direct reply, Mr Tsang said he was told by Michael Clinton, a deputy colonial secretary in the 1970s, that administrative officers should speak their minds to their bosses.
'I tell my colleagues they should try their best to refute their bosses. The truth will come out only after an issue is debated again and again,' Mr Tsang said.
'But I add one point not mentioned by Mr Clinton. If your boss does not take your advice and eventually commits a mistake, you should keep silent and try not to claim credit.'
He also insisted that Mr Tung was willing to listen to people's views. 'Sometimes he asks me to drink coffee [to discuss something]. He tries to persuade me and I also try to persuade him.'
In a swansong speech to the Asia Society last week, Anson Chan urged fellow civil servants to speak up if they felt the SAR's interests were under threat, and she spoke out against 'shoe-shining' and second-guessing.
