My TakeDid CY Leung pull a fast one on his potential rival John Tsang?
The financial secretary was left holding the bag after his boss denied knowledge of a decision not to take questions from four radical lawmakers
First it was, “You always agree with your boss”. Now, it’s “collective decision”. All these are from a man who wants to be the next chief executive. John Tsang Chun-wah may be a nice guy. But the financial secretary’s pronouncements don’t seem to indicate someone with leadership qualities.
Or for that matter, someone who does what he thinks is right or speaks his mind.
Tsang’s latest faux pas was not entirely his fault. It all started with an inexplicable decision, made at the very top of the government, not to answer questions from four radical lawmakers in the Legislative Council. The four are facing disqualification after a court case launched by the government over their oath-taking. But for now, they are still legislators. For once, both the loyalist and pan-democratic camps agreed the government’s stance was absurd. And sure enough, officials made a U-turn, but not before Tsang stated his and the government’s initial refusal to answer questions by reading a government legal advisory in Legco.
That’s the response of a functionary, not someone who wants to run a major city like Hong Kong. He insisted his stance was based on the collective decision of the government after the legal advice was received from the Department of Justice.