After the fanfare surrounding the departure of Anson Chan Fang On-sang, the Chief Executive will have a chance to show his leadership skills with a new hand-picked team.
Tung Chee-hwa will link with Mrs Chan's successor as chief secretary for administration, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Antony Leung Kam-chung as financial secretary.
Henry Tang Ying-yen, Executive Councillor and chairman of the Federation of Industries, expected the three to make a good team, saying: 'Their hearts are in the right place.'
Mr Tang said they shared similar beliefs in economic matters and had the common goal of making the most of the opportunities when China entered the World Trade Organisation.
'It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you can capture it, like the manufacturing industry 20 years ago, the world will become your oyster.'
The role that Hong Kong could play for the mainland, Mr Tang said, would diminish with time when the country became more open. 'They all see this as both a challenge and an opportunity,' Mr Tang said.
Lau Siu-kai, sociology professor at Chinese University, said Mr Tsang would have to convince Beijing that the civil service would not itself form a power centre. 'Beijing expects civil servants to serve,' Professor Lau said, referring to its scepticism towards Mrs Chan.
