Campaign against Tung re-election 'could be seen as threat to Beijing'

The campaign against Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa running for a second five-year term could threaten Beijing, according to the owner of a leading estate agency.

Shih Wing-ching, managing director of Centraline Property Agency, said yesterday: 'The existence of the Communist Party is an established fact, and Tung is the Communist Party's agent in Hong Kong. If the target of the coalition is against Tung, they might as well be anti-communist if they have the guts.'

Speaking before a forum on housing policy organised by the Coalition Against Second Term, Mr Shih said he would support Mr Tung running again, saying it was in the public interest.

He said he did not want to see a contradiction between the Communist regime and the SAR. Mr Shih's comments came after a number of business leaders and political heavyweights announced their support for Mr Tung to run again. He is expected to announce his candidacy on Thursday.

At the forum, Mr Shih, Professor Ho Lok-sang, of Lingnan University, and Virginia Ip Chiu-ping, chief executive of the Hong Kong People's Council on Housing Policy, criticised Mr Tung for his housing policy since the handover. Mr Shih attacked Mr Tung for acting too slowly to announce the scrapping of the target of providing 85,000 flats, while Ms Ip said Mr Tung should not serve another term because his housing policy was 'a mess'.

Professor Ho said he supported Mr Tung seeking re-election, but criticised the decision to sell public rental flats, saying it had seriously harmed the market.