Beijing lobbies in push for a Leung victory
Beijing has already launched efforts to help Leung Chun-ying win the chief executive election on Sunday.
According to sources close to Beijing and supporters of Henry Tang Ying-yen, the central government has communicated, through various means, with Election Committee members who nominated Tang, or remain undecided. The word has got out through phone calls by the liaison offices and a meeting in Shenzhen with a state leader.
A Beijing source who is familiar with the central government's thinking said it hoped to see a candidate with strong public support. 'The central government is now expressing our views and concerns through various channels and platforms,' the source said. 'We hope to see a candidate with strong public support elected smoothly [on Sunday].'
His comments came after some of the committee's 390 nominators of Tang with a Fujian or Guangdong background - more than 40 voters - confirmed being approached by the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong to switch their support to Leung, and some met a state leader in Shenzhen for the same purpose.
Those with a Fujian background included Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference deputies Hung Cho-hong, Lo Man-tuen and Sze Chi-ching, while Guangdong-origin voters included CPPCC delegate Peter Wong Kwok-keung and Commercial (First) voter Yu Pang-chun.
A Beijing-friendly politician said leaders of the Federation of Guangdong Associations in Hong Kong and the Federation of Fujian Associations were summoned to meet a state leader in Shenzhen yesterday.
Some delegates to the CPPCC who nominated Tang were also asked to join the meeting. 'The message is loud and clear: support Leung Chun-ying,' the politician said.
James Tien Pei-chun, honorary chairman of the Liberal Party, also confirmed the moves by the liaison office, saying he expected Leung to win the small-circle election. Tien, whose party will meet today to decide on their final vote, said Leung had an 'over 50 per cent chance of winning'. When asked if 'Leung's era has come', he said: 'Yes, the citizens should be prepared for that.'
Another source familiar with the operation of Beijing-loyalist newspapers in Hong Kong said Beijing informed heads of three such papers - Wen Wei Po, Ta Kung Pao and Commercial Daily - in the middle of last week that Leung had won the blessing of the central government.
Beijing-loyalist newspapers had adopted a principle of 'equal treatment' for their reports on Leung and Tang in the past few months.
But when Wen Wei Po ran two stories on Monday's televised debate on its front page, the bigger story was on Leung. The story on the former Executive Council convenor had bigger headlines, stating Leung's call for 'achieving a big reconciliation' and carried a bigger photo of him.
Ta Kung Pao ran a story on the two candidates which dominated the first half of page two, with Leung's photo and the headline, 'Leung outlines plan for big reconciliation'.
While the Beijing source said the central government had been refraining from expressing a preference, he said: 'Things are getting more and more complicated and could affect Hong Kong's stability.
'One bottom line is that we don't want to see an abortive election. This has become a mud-slinging election. Delaying a few more weeks will only lead to more mud-slinging and split the pro-establishment camp.'
He said that for the chief executive to have a strong mandate, the central government hoped he would get more than the minimum required votes of 601; '690 will be safe'.
The Heung Yee Kuk vice-chairman Daniel Lam Wai-keung said disputes between some rural leaders and Leung 'had been resolved'.
1,193
Electors in the chief executive election, which takes place on Sunday
