Hong Kong political heavyweight Fanny Law must learn art of subtlety

With friends like Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, you don't need enemies.

The Executive Council heavyweight singled out Ronny Tong Ka-wah and Dennis Kwok, two moderate pan-democrats from the Civic Party, as possible chief executive candidates early this week.

Perhaps she was trying to be helpful, but jeez, by naming them, she might as well paint a red target on their foreheads for other pan-dems to attack them. Understandably, both lawmakers have run for cover and denounced Law for mentioning them for a post neither of them has expressed an interest in.

Even Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen has joined Law's chorus of critics.

"I believe in the future we should not name anyone and say whether he or she can be put forward as a candidate or not," he said yesterday. "It is unfair, it exerts undue pressure on the person being named, and it does no good to the entire system."

Quite. Law has committed the classic gaffe, otherwise defined as something a politician says in public that may be true but shouldn't have said.