Tang told to catch up or risk being asked to quit race for top job

Beijing may ask Henry Tang Ying-yen to withdraw from the chief executive race if he lags too far behind main rival Leung Chun-ying in the popularity stakes, one of his allies warned yesterday.

James Tien Pei-chun, honorary chairman of the Liberal Party, said the former chief secretary and presumed front runner for the top job must close his gap in the popularity polls with Leung by January - and he needed to spell out policy issues openly.

'The central government would have a hard time justifying its support for Henry if he could only manage to win the support of 10 per cent of respondents in public opinion polls in January, while Leung is backed by more than 40 per cent,' Tien said. 'It's difficult for Beijing to do so, even if it favours Tang.'

Last month, a survey commissioned by the South China Morning Post and conducted by the University of Hong Kong's public opinion programme showed Leung, the former convenor of the Executive Council, won the backing of 29.1 per cent of 533 respondents, while Tang had just 14 per cent.

Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, a member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, was supported by 19.2 per cent. She has announced she will not join the race.

Tien said he did not rule out the possibility of Beijing persuading Tang to withdraw from the election if his popularity remained low.