It was highly entertaining, watching Liberal Party chief James Tien Pei-chun and his party colleagues pledge their loyalty to the chief executive - after Mr Tien effectively forced the government to defer the National Security Bill. It was like witnessing a group of eunuchs take a vow of chastity.
Mr Tien's resignation from the Executive Council caught everybody by surprise. Who would have thought the government's final line of defence for Article 23 would be broached by someone from within the power hub? It might have been a small sacrifice for Mr Tien, but it has cost Tung Chee-hwa and his administration dearly.
Although the Liberal Party chairman has stopped short of echoing calls for Mr Tung to step down, Mr Tien's calculated move was tantamount to a vote of no confidence, a hit below the belt, and constituted a display of dirty politics in its finest form. This latest political drama has delivered at least two products - a delay for the National Security Bill and an accidental hero.
Mr Tien has never been a people's hero, especially with the nickname 'Tien Siu', which means Young Master Tien in Cantonese. He is very much regarded as a wealthy young entrepreneur rather than a street fighter for democracy. Among the general public, he is often identified as an arrogant business elitist, out of touch with the people - especially those at the community level.
But his latest Beijing visit seems to have changed that perception substantially. It reinvented Mr Tien, who has re-emerged as a people's hero, a man of honour and conscience. More importantly, he is now seen as a candidate for chief executive. Mr Tien's Beijing shuffle has also rattled the local political scene, stimulating a massive government and public response and turning him into a political superstar overnight. Soon, we may see our accidental hero running for the top government post.
The future has become increasingly unpredictable in the new political realm that has taken shape since the July 1 political phenomenon. Nothing is impossible, now. Mr Tien has risen from virtually zero to hero status in the public eye in a matter of days. By ability or by luck, or maybe both, his meteoric rise was made possible mainly through random chance. He happened to be at the right place, at the right time.
