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Klaudia Lee

Martin Wong

InvestHK chief says he will pursue all avenues of appeal

InvestHK chief Mike Rowse has vowed to 'pursue all avenues' in fighting the government after his appeal against a misconduct ruling for his role in the Harbour Fest fiasco was rejected.

He insisted yesterday that he had done nothing wrong.

On Friday Mr Rowse received notice from Chief Secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan  that his appeal against the ruling, made in October 2005, had been dismissed and he would be fined a month's salary - about HK$160,000.

In a strongly worded statement yesterday Mr Rowse said: 'I am naturally disappointed by the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings.

'I still consider myself innocent of all the charges, and will consult my legal advisers to pursue all avenues of appeal. I remain fully confident in the rule of law in Hong Kong and in our independent legal system.'

In June 2004 Mr Rowse was criticised in a Legislative Council report for failing to properly monitor the use of HK$100 million in government money for a series of concerts staged to restore Hong Kong's image after the Sars outbreak.

Disciplinary procedures began three months later and he was subsequently fined a month's salary,  though details of the punishment were not made public. Mr Rowse immediately filed an appeal to Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.

Benny Tai Yiu-ting,  associate dean of the law faculty at the University of Hong Kong, said all Mr Rowse could do now was to launch a lawsuit against the government.

'He has already exhausted all means within the civil service mechanism. All he can do is seek a judicial review to see whether the accusation is right and if the punishment is appropriate,' he said.

Mr Rowse stressed he would remain in his job.

'Together with my colleagues, I will continue to be fully engaged in carrying out my investment promotion duties and creating jobs for Hong Kong people,' he said.

Democrat Cheung Man-kwong,  a member of Legco public services panel, said he was upset by the latest development.

'We have demanded for so long in Legco a clear picture of the Harbour Fest disciplinary hearings and the appeal, but then we only learn about it from media reports,' he said. 'And so many details are still missing. Why does Mr Rowse take all the blame? He was only the executor of the event.

'How about Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen,  Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Frederick Ma Si-hang  and Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Stephen Ip Shu-kwan?  They should have supervised the concerts,' he said, adding that he was requesting a special panel meeting on February 8 to discuss the issue.

The veteran lawmaker said the government had 'delicately' released the news to the media as Mr Tsang prepared to announce his candidacy  for a second term.

'Donald Tsang just wanted to defuse all the bombs that might affect his election campaign before kicking it off officially,' Mr Cheung said.

Mr Rowse was a close aide to Mr Tsang during his days as financial secretary and secretary for the treasury. His wife, Fanny Wong Lai-kwan,  is part of Mr Tsang's campaign team for the March  election.

The chief executive handed the case to Mr Hui to show his impartiality.

The financial secretary declined to comment on the case yesterday.

'Regarding Mike Rowse and  Harbour Fest,  there were already two independent reports [completed] in 2004. One is by  Legco's Public Accounts Committee and the other  by the independent committee chaired by [Moses] Cheng Mo-chi. The reports have  been submitted and the government has already given responses. I don't have anything to add,' Mr Tang said.



Rowse to fight on over Fest penalty