The Liberal Party leader has telephoned former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang to try to defuse a row that blew up when he accused the civil service of insubordination to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post yesterday, James Tien Pei-chun said he made the call after he received a letter from Mrs Chan expressing her views on the matter.
The letter was sent to him a few days after his Letter to Hong Kong was broadcast on RTHK last month, in which he said Mrs Chan should share some blame for the blunders in Mr Tung's first term in office.
'I explained to her over the phone that I have nothing against her,' he said. 'I am definitely not targeting Anson. She is my good personal friend. I have a lot of respect for her.'
He said looking at the issue from a legislator's perspective, both the civil service as a whole and Mr Tung should be held accountable for mistakes, such as the piling scandal on public housing projects. But he said Mrs Chan felt the civil service had always done its best.
He said Mrs Chan had accepted his explanation, although she did not agree with him.
