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

Alice Wu

Published: 8:15am, 4 Sep 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

“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 concert had been scheduled for September 8 at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai, but organisers pulled the plug after it attracted attention following the controversy over a lavish farewell dinner held for a district officer on August 24.

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.

Politics is full of stage-managed events. Look no further than the consultation sessions Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his team have been attending to gather suggestions from “the public” for his coming policy address. These members of the public mostly come from pro-establishment district groups. No one from the “opposition” took part, it seems.

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.

Leung wrote on social media that these “ostentatious and extravagant” practices by the pro-establishment camp needed to stop.

Attendees at the lavish banquet held for Wong Tai Sin district officer Steve Wong. Photo: Handout

Wong was quick to apologise for the “perception problem” caused by his attendance at the huge banquet in his honour. However, his problem clearly went far beyond a perception issue.

There are very clear government guidelines, stating that officials should not accept “lavish, or unreasonably generous or frequent entertainment, or indeed any entertainment that is likely to give rise to any potential or real conflict of interest; put the officers in an obligatory position in the discharge of their duties; compromise their impartiality or judgment; or bring them or the public service into disrepute”.

Under the new and improved political system, district council officers now have greater powers. Indeed, they have been called district level “chief executives”, having the power to chair the council, lead the area committee, the fight crime committee and the fire safety committee, as well as newly formed community care teams. District officers will also set meeting rules and assign consultation tasks to councillors.

Hong Kong political drama ends with district council reforms

No wonder officials, lawmakers and representatives of pro-establishment district groups attended the banquet. I would bet that not everyone wanted to be there but they felt they had to show their support, whether for the organiser or others there. The different community groups were making their presence and influence felt.

As fond as the attendees may be of the district officer, the event was really a display of the organiser’s political clout. And it reeked of flattery. Unsurprisingly, Executive Council convenor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and fellow member Ronny Tong Ka-wah joined Leung in speaking up against it.

Regina Ip at a seminar at Saxon Tower in Lai Chi Kok on February 10. She recently warned that district officers must guard against a “flattery culture” because of their increased influence. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Leung was clear that this was no isolated incident. It’s a culture of flattery – where groups and parties take turns hosting events that others attend as a show of support – and it’s excessive.

It’s a culture of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” that only creates a greater disconnect between ordinary people and those with a seat at the table. It tarnishes the good stories that Hong Kong’s leaders want to tell and the good songs some lawmakers want to sing.

If our city’s politicians failed to catch the theme of pomp and false flattery in As You Like It, they should at least remember what director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Xia Baolong said when he made his rounds of the city in April. Did he not reportedly warn legislators against devoting their energy to “attracting eyeballs”? This should apply not only to lawmakers but to all government officials and community groups too.

Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA