My Take | In the topsy-turvy world of Hong Kong politics, black can be white
Beijing is rooting for Carrie Lam to win the chief executive election, but it is John Tsang – backed by the pan-dems – who is more likely to be a lapdog
According to Hong Kong deputies who were present at the weekend meeting with Zhang Dejiang (張德江), the National People’s Congress chairman said the central government had the last word on who could be appointed the city’s chief executive.
Some people in Hong Kong seem to be shocked by it. It’s actually not even news. The Basic Law clearly spells out the chief executive is accountable to the central government (Article 43) and must be appointed by it (Article 45).
It seems all the brouhaha is really about whether Beijing would be willing to appoint underdog John Tsang Chun-wah should he win the election race later this month.
Zhang repeated Beijing’s standards for appointing the next chief executive: “Love the country and love Hong Kong, trusted by Beijing, and capable of governing and is supported by Hong Kong people.”
While Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is clearly Beijing’s favourite, is there any reason to think Tsang may not be acceptable to the central government? Would Beijing risk a political crisis just to prevent someone as unthreatening as Tsang to take up the top post? It seems absurd.
