Fred Ma's dramatic punchline a little lame
The outgoing commerce minister, Frederick Ma Si-hang, showed off his broadcasting talent yesterday when he starred as himself in Flat C, 18th Floor to mark the 40th anniversary of the popular Commercial Radio current affairs satire. Mr Ma had a casual chat with the boss and staff of a Hong Kong-style cafe, on matters ranging from his imminent departure from the government to his boss. Asked his view of Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, Mr Ma said: 'People who came from the business sector like me won't comment on their bosses in public. [But] let's make an exception, since my boss is the chief executive.' The rest was less dramatic. 'He's really committed to serving the wellbeing of Hong Kong people ...'
Getting to know you - as it suits
Does former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang know how to tell Constitutional Affairs Minister Stephen Lam Sui-lung from the former colleague with whom she once worked closely? Mrs Chan said at a Legislative Council meeting in April that she did not 'really get to know' Mr Lam - hinting that the civil-servant-turned-minister had changed quite a bit. Unhappy with Mr Lam's evasive response yesterday to her question about how functional constituencies could comply with internationally recognised principles of 'universal and equal suffrage', she said: 'I feel the secretary is his same old self - answering questions that no one asked.'
Election accusations off to early start
Election mud-slinging is already in full swing. Paul Chan Mo-po, a candidate for the accountancy functional constituency and a former president of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, has been accused of having a conflict of interest by occupying the position while holding a stake in a firm that offers students wishing to qualify as accountants tips on how to pass their professional exam. Yesterday, Mr Chan said he had declared his 'passive investment' in Singapore-based FTMS Global during meetings of the institute and had long ago resigned as a director of its Hong Kong branch. 'I have never had anything to do with qualification-exam matters, and have not used my position to reap business benefits,' he said.
