Anson Chan cagey over Tiananmen vote
Some may remember Anson Chan Fang On-sang being challenged about her stance on the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in the run-up to last year's Legislative Council by-election. In a debate with challenger Lo Wing-lok, she did not answer whether she would vote for or against a Legco motion tabled by pan-democrats every year seeking vindication of the 1989 pro-democracy movement and the victims of the crackdown. Now comes the real challenge. Democrat Cheung Man-kwong will table the motion again in next Wednesday's council meeting. The government official turned legislator is not only keeping us guessing on how she will vote, but also on whether she will speak during the motion debate. 'I will decide whether to participate in the discussion,' she said yesterday.
Regina Ip's daughter is a chip off the old block
Being a former senior official, one would have thought Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, former secretary for security who is now head of the Savantas Policy Institute, would be most interested on the announcement of a new team of politically appointed undersecretaries on Tuesday. Her apparent silence was due to the fact that she was in the US attending her daughter Cynthia's high-school graduation ceremony. Mrs Ip was thrilled to learn that Cynthia, who will return to Hong Kong in the summer to help with her campaign for the Legco election, had graduated with flying colours, according to an aide. No stranger to the cameras during her mother's failed bid for a seat in last year's by-election, Cynthia was also elected as vice-president of her school's student association. Definitely an asset in election time.
Rita Fan makes a meal of farewell
Remember the row about how lawmakers can spend their monthly allowance on renting offices, paying staff, plus wining and dining contacts related to their legislative business? Well Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai's office was quick to dispel 'misunderstandings' yesterday after a newspaper reported that the Legco president, who has announced she will not run again after completing her term in July, had invited Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and his officials to a personal farewell feast in the Legco building tomorrow. 'There is no question on Mrs Fan inviting people to bid her farewell using taxpayers' money,' a spokesman for the Legco Secretariat said. The truth is, the lunch is part of the annual programme of liaison between the legislature and the executive. A real farewell lunch - for not only Mrs Fan, but all Legco members - will be held in July.
