Six weeks into the consultation on a goods and services tax, an appeal by Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen for the public to get on with the real GST debate speaks a lot for the conundrum facing the administration.
Confronted with growing pressure for it to abort the nine-month consultation, the government has no choice but to fight back, or at least be seen to be doing so.
In an article published in newspapers on Thursday, Mr Tang admitted negative reaction to the GST proposal was an 'entirely understandable human reaction'. He was adamant the 'initial, negative response is driven by emotions'.
'We have no intention of curtailing or dropping our nine-month consultation,' he wrote.
'It is now time to put the slogans and rhetoric to one side, and to discuss the substance of the government's proposals. But please, let's have a calm and rational debate based on facts and figures, rather than one fuelled by fallacy and fear-mongering.'
In view of the unpopularity of the proposed tax, the negative public response should come as no surprise. If Mr Tang and the administration have already revised the game plan, it is because the initial stage of the GST battle could not have gone worse.
Opinion polls consistently show that most people are opposed to a GST. At least three major political parties - the Democratic Party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, and the Liberal Party - have spoken out against it.