The chief executive election has reached a stage of close-range combat with the two top candidates intensifying their campaign activities to garner support from the Election Committee. While Henry Tang Ying-yen and Leung Chun-ying have been attending campaign forums, legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has also tried to increase her media exposure even though she has not yet confirmed her intention to run for the top job.
Last weekend, the National School of Administration's Hong Kong Alumni Association held a forum to which it invited Tang and Leung. Ip, a long-time civil servant before becoming a legislator, also turned up in a bid to win support from public servants.
Surprisingly, Tang, who has long been criticised by his opponent for having little political wisdom, was unyielding in his policy with regards to the civil service. He refused to promise that he would not reduce civil service pay if the economy went south. On the other hand, Leung and Ip went out of their way to please, making all kinds of promises.
Some of Leung's campaign pledges include conducting a review of the workloads and manpower levels in the civil service, demanding that political appointees support civil servants if and when they come under political pressure, and finding ways to improve collaboration with the public sector. Most importantly, he promised not to cut back on the civil service in a downturn as long as the government could find new revenue sources. He even indicated that, in the long run, there should be room to raise civil service pay.
In a similar vein, Ip strongly opposed the reduction of civil service pay, saying a cut would merely be a political gesture with no effect. Leung and Ip are essentially making generous promises at the expense of taxpayers.
History reminds us of some of our pernicious legacies. Following the Asian financial crisis, Hong Kong was hit by severe deflation that lasted years and, as a result, the government suffered budget deficits, prompting it to greatly reduce public spending. To show that it was willing to weather the economic storm with the people, the administration trimmed civil service pay, which stirred angry protests from public servants.