Opinion | From a lavish banquet to concert spotlight, what happened to Hong Kong politicians keeping a low profile?
- The culture of political flattery has gone too far. It creates a greater disconnect between the people and those with a seat at the table, and tarnishes the good stories leaders want to tell
“All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It and it seems some Hong Kong lawmakers took that quite literally with the plan to headline a charity concert dubbed “The Great Voices of Legislative Council”.
The dinner drew fire from political heavyweights including former chief executive Leung Chun-ying, while Legco veteran Martin Liao Cheung-kong reportedly warned fellow lawmakers to watch out for potential bad press if they received more media coverage on their entertainment engagements than their day jobs.
They are also highly and obviously scripted. Whether it is statecraft or stagecraft that the team lacks, it’s hardly an effective show of the city’s leader reading, connecting and engaging with the public.
But the worst political show of late was the farewell dinner for Wong Tai Sin district officer Steve Wong Chi-wah, who is heading to Beijing for a year for further studies. Attended by more than 500 people, it was put on by the Kowloon Federation of Associations – an umbrella group for pro-establishment community organisations.
