appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

AS IN PREVIOUS YEARS, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa  will be working quietly in the Christmas holidays to crystallise his thoughts for an annual policy address scheduled  early next month.  It will be a time for reflection on events, self-appraisal of his work in the past 12 months and resolutions for the coming year.

Superficially,  2004 has not been a bad one for Mr Tung.  Pressure for full democracy significantly eased after Beijing ruled out  universal suffrage in April, defusing a political bombshell.

The central government also gave tacit consent to the shelving  of anti-subversion legislation, thereby removing another time bomb.

After years of deflation, the economy recorded a fourth month of inflation in November -  seen as another  sign of a new cycle of growth. Measures introduced in the past two years to help the property market and tourism have begun to take effect.

On a personal level, opinion polls show a steady improvement in  Mr Tung's popularity in the past few months, despite a slight drop again this month after  controversial issues such as the row over the fate of the Hunghom Peninsula residential estate.

A 'down with Tung' campaign spearheaded by a cross-sectoral coalition lost  steam. The worst was seemingly over.

As Mr Tung reflects on the past year and charts  the city's course next year, he must be observing the growing turbulence in Hong Kong waters.

Whether President Hu Jintao's  lecture for the Tung team in Macau last Monday was a dressing-down or a piece of well-intended advice will remain a debate without conclusion.

Its consequence is the same: Mr Hu's  remarks raise questions about whether Beijing has become less confident and trustful of  Mr Tung's leadership - as many Hong Kong people feel.

The public's perception that  Mr Tung is incompetent has been reinforced by the euphoria and fanfare in Macau as the former Portuguese colony celebrated the re-election of its Chief Executive, Edmund Ho Hau-wah,  and the fifth handover anniversary.

A study by a mainland research institute,  published a fortnight ago, has done more harm to Mr Tung's image. It found Hong Kong is the most competitive of 281 Chinese cities,  followed by Taipei and Shanghai.  It nominated Mr Ho as leader of the year, edging out  mayors in cities such as Shenzhen, Beijing and Qingdao . Mr Tung was not among the top 10 leaders.

In his Macau speech, Mr Hu urged Mr Tung and his team to uncover inadequacies and improve governance. It was clear Beijing had identified  Mr Tung's weaknesses much earlier, when former premier Zhu Rongji  made a veiled criticism of him for 'discussion without decision, decision without implementation'.

Rather than heaping blanket praise and support on Mr Tung's handling of complex issues, as in the earlier years of the special administrative region,  Beijing has revised its verdict in the past few years. The official line was that Beijing supported the  Tung  administration's governance in accordance with the law.

With  about 30 months remaining in the Tung administration's second term, there is a growing feeling of resignation in Beijing - and society at large - about  just how much Mr Tung can improve his leadership.

It is perhaps the case that  political insensitivity, and clumsy publicity  over the Macau session,   have caused embarrassment to  Mr Tung.

Beijing gained nothing from bringing Mr Tung to his knees. But like many people, Beijing is hoping a candid and pointed reminder of the paramount importance of a 'people-first' approach in governance can avoid more social division.

The central government's hope that the policies of Mr Tung and his team can minimise the damage to stability and harmony has a ring of pragmatism to it as people set their eyes on the post-Tung era.



Pragmatic Beijing looks beyond the Tung era