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looking for. 1.
Mr Leung is discredited, so let him go, Mr Tung 2.
Don't take officials' word 3.
Your SARS Questions Answered by Doctor Margaret Cheng 4.
Mr Tung's men won the day, but there will still be
a price to pay
1. Mr Leung is discredited, so let him go, Mr Tung
SCMP,
8 May 2003 It
was disconcerting to see Financial Secretary Antony Lueng Kam-chung, once the
glamour boy who quit a lucrative career as a banker to join the government, sitting
sheepishly through yesterday's confidence debate in the Legislative Council. To
add insult to injury, coming to his defence, as protocol dicated, was none other
than Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, his predecessor whose policies he
has had to undo. Mr
Leung's failure to declare his purchase of a luxury car when he was about to raise
the vehicle first registration tax in the budget in March destroyed at a stroke
the goodwill he had managed to accumulate since taking up his post two years ago.
Until the scandal was exposed four days after the budget, his affable style had
won praise from the media and the public, even if his attempts to streamline the
government had earned opprobrium from career civil servants. But his credibility
took a beating with the revelations, and he took the honorable step of tendering
his resignation, but was kept on by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. Mr Tung's decision
to keep on a loyal but discredited lieutenant has shown once again that he has
failed to hone his political skills despite having been in power for six years.
The "accountability system" for senior officials, which he introduced
at the beginning of his second term in July, now lies in ruins. Mr Leung has clearly
breached the rules, but Mr Tung has ruled that he should still carry on because
of his "noble intentions" to serve the community. It
might genuinely have been a momentary lapse of attention which caused Mr Leung
to fail to declare his interest, even as a fellow minister not involved in preparing
the budget felt obliged to tell his colleagues that he had also bought a car.
But as the government's chief finance man, Mr Leung's integrity must be beyond
reproach. Even though he escaped a formal censure last night with the help of
pro-government legislators, he will not be able to stare people in the eye as
he discharges his duties. The
vacillating style of governance of Mr Tung has not helped either. Mr Leung might
have hoped to restore his credibility by forcing through some tough changes at
the stock exchange - he quickly endorsed the reform proposals of a consultant
last month. But he was soon forced to backtrack, after the exchanged successfully
lobbied Mr Tung to put the reform on hold. Pro-government
Legislators argued that with the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome
it was more important than ever that the community rally behind the government
and stop whining about a senior official's purchase of a car. We would argue that
the most effective way of putting an end to the matter would be for Mr Tung to
make his "accountability system" work by accepting Mr Leung's resignation.
That course of action would also afford Mr Leung the opportunity to take responsibility
for his lapses and to recover from his embarrassing mistake by withdrawing from
the limelight. In time, it is possible that the community would welcome his return
to politics, as has happened to others. For example, former Housing Authority
chairman Rosanna Wong Yick-ming, who resigned two years ago to take responsibility
for a scandals about substandard public housing blocks, is now leading a campaign
to combat Sars. Unless
Mr Leung is given time to heal his wounds, he will remain blemished in the public
eye. his competence may not be in doubt, but his honesty has been challenged.
Mr Tung should know that unless the honesty issue is addressed quickly, Mr Leung's
competence may become an issue, and the financial secretary will be a lame duck.
If that happens, not only will Mr Leung fall, he will take down the administration
with him.
2. Don't take officials' word
Letter to the Editor,
SCMP 8 May 2003 I
refer to "Zen's charge over Article 23 'groundless'" (may 6), and anti-democratic
rant in which Elsie Tue again misses the point in her opposition to all things
"western" and her unshakable belief that all is well in China or well
enough to support Article 23. We
know that Sars originated in Guangdong. We know that casualty figures were regarded
as secrets affecting state security, and newspaper ordered not to publish them.
Does she really want us to rely on our own government, which had similar thoughts
on the desirability of "bad publicity" but no mechanism to enforce them,
and give it a tool for intimidating journalists on matters which can mean life
and death for the rest of us? And
journalists certainly feel intimidated. One would have thought that when the need
for unfettered journalism is clear, she would have accepted that judgment of these
matters is not for government. But
she is wedded to a curious psychological need for control by a government, which
most of Hong Kong does not trust. This is sadly and strangely out of tune for
one whose life history has testified to support for the underdog. PAUL
SERFATY, Mid-Levels
3. Your SARS Questions Answered by Doctor Margaret Cheng
SCMP,
8 May 2003 Q
On February 15, I became ill with fever, a sore throat, headache and diarrhea
after my employees returned from Guangdong province. It was the worst condition
I had felt in my life. By February 25, my four-year-old daughter had a fever and
was coughing. Is it possible that we had a milder form of Sars? Can I have the
serological test for circulating antibodies without having to visit a hospital?
Will there be a serological survey of the population to see if Sars has been around
for longer than we think? A
The serological test is still being perfected, but is now being used to look at
the antibody status and patterns in people who have had Sars and the people they
have been in close contact with. This test is not yet available to private doctors
and the public, but larger-scale community studies will be done in future to determine
whether the virus has been around for longer than we think and to see how far
it has penetrated. Academics I have spoken to believe you may have been in contact
with Sars and recommend that you, your family and your staff undergo testing. Q
Is it possible that a person can be a carrier of the Sars virus and pass it on
to others without showing signs of infection? A
All research has found that the people who started each chain or cluster were
showing clear symptoms of the illness at the time they spread it. The theory is
that people need to build up a large viral load in their bodies before they can
effectively spread the virus. The "super-spreaders" - the people who
infected large numbers of people - had all been ill for some time and were approaching
the point where the virus was overwhelming their bodies. This is an advantage
we have over this particular virus. Unlike hepatitis or Aids - which can indeed
be spread by perfectly healthy-looking people - you are not going to be infected
with Sars by the person next to you if they look healthy and are not coughing
or sneezing. Q
if someone is suspected of being infected with Sars, can they refuse to be admitted
to hospital until tests confirm they are actually infected? A
No. The government has added Sars to its list of infectious diseases and the authorities
can detain suspected carriers in hospital or in home quarantine, and require them
to take action such as home disinfection, self-isolation and daily temperature
checks. Even if they are only "suspected" carriers and promise to stay
at home until cleared, officials will most likely insist that they be isolated
in hospital because too many people have broken quarantine orders and traveled
to other countries.
4. Mr Tung's men won the day, but there will still be a price to pay
Chris
Yeung, SCMP 8 May 2003 The
veto of the no-confidence motion might have put a full stop to the political wrestling
in the Legislative Council over the car-purchase scandal. Should
a related investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption conclude
no law has been broken, the financial chief will have survived the most severe
challenge to his political career, though he will not have emerged unscathed.
The administration
of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and its supporters, particularly those who voted
in support of the financial secretary, will strive to put the saga behind them.
Confronted by
sharp attacks on the integrity and ability of Mr Leung, government-friendly lawmakers
ducked the politically sensitive issue. Their arguments were similar: let bygones
be bygones, give him another chance, look forward, the economy matters and unity
comes first. At
a time when the special administrative region is engulfed in a severe economic
crisis triggered by the atypical pneumonia outbreak, pro-government members argue
that kicking out Mr Leung would do more harm than good to efforts to salvage the
economy. An announcement
by Mr Tung on Monday that Mr Leung would head a taskforce to devise measures to
'get the economy going again' was timed to shift public attention from the scandal
to the Sars-stricken economy. For
his part, Mr Leung has no alternative but to get on with his job, in the hope
of repairing the damage to his integrity and reputation through his achievements
in economy-related issues. That
said, he should realise doubts about his integrity and competence will not go
away with the defeat of the no-confidence vote. His
reputation will no longer be whiter than white. Worse, public scepticism towards
him have and will severely hamper his work. With a government already suffering
from low popularity, there will be serious doubts about whether Mr Leung has the
authority and credibility to fight hard battles. As
indicated by independent legislator Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, the government backdown
over reforming the stock-exchange listing mechanism in the wake of last year's
penny stocks debacle speaks volumes about the plight of a beleaguered financial
secretary in a feeble administration. On
a higher political plane, the 'cargate' scandal will make a mockery - yet again
- of the 'accountability system', now into its 11th month of operation. Instead
of helping to set benchmarks on integrity, public trust and competence of officials
held accountable under the new system, the way the case was handled has been riddled
with political expediency, muddled arguments and confusing principles. Pro-Beijing
unionist legislator Leung Fu-wah warned Hong Kong would be the big loser if the
motion was passed. Even
though the pro-government coalition Leung Fu-wah belongs to has won the vote,
its members are far from being the winners in the saga. The
financial secretary, Mr Tung's team and their supporters still have a price to
pay for the ill-fated car purchase. | 
